About

Danske Bank has undertaken numerous significant transactions in the last few years, and the legal team serving the Irish subsidiary of the Copenhagen headquartered bank has undergone changes in line with it. The legal team, headed by Irish legal head Robert Owens, has been instrumental in assisting the completion of the closure of Danske Bank’s retail banking business, supporting tasks including winding down and closing personal and business accounts, a number of property portfolio sales and the sale of the bank’s SME loan book. This exceptionally unsettling time for the company and the industry as a whole meant Owens’ team were needed to manage the numerous legal affairs stemming from the bank’s decision to focus on corporate and institutional customers. The legal department, in an outstanding example of professionalism and business resilience were required to adjust to the new structure of the company and what were ‘emerging business realities’ according to Owens. Such realities included key strategic and operational decisions and processes throughout the bank where team members have ‘taken great responsibility’ to assist, in addition to helping implement a ‘number of process changes to ensure efficient delivery of legal services’. With a structure that includes legal voices at the earliest possible stage, Owens’ team align with the business via a working partnership to achieve their goal of being the most trusted legal business partner in the company. Delivering added value is a key concern in this regard, and key performance indicators involving internal stakeholder satisfaction are one way in which the team’s utility is measured.