Nykredit agrees BEC buyout to scale BankTech services

By Aarav Garg

Nykredit Group has agreed to acquire full ownership of BEC Financial Technologies from its group of owner banks to form a new entity called Nykredit Financial Technologies.

Nykredit already holds about 69% of BEC and has agreed to acquire the remaining 31% from the other shareholder banks. The transaction remains subject to regulatory approval and is expected to close in the second half of 2026.

The merger would unite two sizeable banking IT operations into one platform serving Nykredit and the 12 other banks currently using BEC systems. Management said the enlarged business is intended to deliver faster product launches, streamlined decision-making, stronger development capacity and more competitive pricing.

Vice-Chairman of BEC’s Board of Directors, and representative of the other BEC member banks, Martin Kviesgaard, CEO of GrønlandsBANKEN said, “We are very pleased with this agreement. As owners, it has been important to us to build on the strong community that is BEC’s foundation. On that basis, we have had good discussions among the owners. IT evolution is moving rapidly, and we look forward to the agreement being implemented. It strengthens all of us in the marketplace and ensures that we have attractive, competitive IT solutions that meet our needs as banks and our customers’ needs for digital services.”

BEC has been one of Denmark’s main banking technology providers, supplying core banking, mobile banking, advisory, data and AI tools to member institutions. Nykredit’s Digital, Change & IT division has led the lender’s own technology modernisation efforts. By combining both operations, the group aims to create end-to-end banking solutions backed by greater scale and sector expertise.

Chairman of BEC’s Board of Directors and Group Managing Director David Hellemann, Nykredit group, said, “The ambition is clear: Nykredit Financial Technologies will ensure powerful development capacity to compete even further with the largest competitors. This will happen in continued close collaboration with the banks in the community. The banks in Nykredit Financial Technologies can look forward to more and faster digital solutions at competitive prices.”

The companies also said the transaction is expected to generate synergies, including redundancies, indicating likely workforce rationalisation after completion. Until approval is received, both organisations will continue operating independently under competition rules.

For Denmark’s regional and cooperative banks, the deal could reshape access to shared technology infrastructure at a time when lenders face rising compliance costs, cybersecurity demands and increasing digital competition.

BEC’s existing services for client banks are expected to continue unchanged after closing, while the next formal step will be submission of the merger notification to the Danish Competition and Consumer Authority.