Nykredit’s acquisition of Spar Nord has been approved by the Danish Competition and Consumer Authority without conditions, paving the way for Nykredit to become Denmark’s third-largest bank in terms of lending. The approval, announced on Wednesday, concludes a process that began in December of last year.

The Danish Competition and Consumer Authority investigated whether Nykredit, the country’s largest mortgage institution, would excessively strengthen its position in the banking sector through the acquisition. Ultimately, the authority concluded that the merger would not significantly restrict competition.

Director Jakob Hald stated that the authority assessed that the acquisition of Spar Nord Bank by Nykredit does not significantly restrict competition, therefore they approve the merger. He added that the merger includes important markets that they focus on, and that they have listened to the inquiries they have received and investigated possible consequences of the merger.

Several bank managers were reportedly interviewed by the authority regarding their views on the acquisition.

Finans had reported expectations of intervention from competition authorities due to concerns about Nykredit becoming too dominant in the mortgage market.

The Danish Competition and Consumer Authority justified its decision by noting that Spar Nord already mediates Totalkredit’s loans from the Nykredit Group and that the market concentration resulting from the acquisition does not conflict with EU rules.