New Project: Evaluation of "Samfunnsløftet", Sparebank 1 Nord-Norge's Community Benefit Strategy

One aspect that differentiates savings banks (Norwegian: “sparebanker”) from commercial banks is their dividend practices. While dividends in commercial banks exclusively go to shareholders, a significant portion of the dividends in savings banks are returned to the community. In the Sparebank 1 Alliance, there is an ongoing discussion about the most effective method for dividend distribution, a discussion that has become even more relevant due to increased profits in the banking sector. There are various dividend practices within the alliance; some banks choose to distribute customer dividends, others support foundations, while some contribute to gift funds.

"Samfunnsløftet" is a dividend strategy introduced in 2018 by Sparebank 1 Nord-Norge (SNN), which has now been operational for five years. With well over 10,000 applications received and over 8,000 approved, the strategy has led to a distribution of nearly 1.7 billion Norwegian kroner. Samfunnsløftet accounts for up to 50 percent of the funding for various initiatives, potentially doubling the total scope to over 3 billion kroner.

Despite a detailed overview of individual allocations, there is a lack of comprehensive knowledge about the overall effect of these efforts. This has led to Vista Analyse now evaluating the total effect of Samfunnsløftet, both overall and per area of effort. In addition to an annually relevant area of effort, Samfunnsløftet operates with four fixed areas of effort: local communities, arenas, youth, and innovation.

“We are planning to conduct a broad and thorough evaluation, using several research-based methods to uncover the effect of Samfunnsløftet on the community in Northern Norway,” says project leader Haakon Vennemo, partner in Vista Analyse.

The evaluation, which is aimed at decision-makers in SNN and Samfunnsløftet, will also be made publicly available.

“This is an important and exciting project that not only emphasizes Vista Analyse's competence in evaluation methodology but also contributes to increasing knowledge about the effect of certain dividend strategies in the savings bank sector,” Vennemo concludes.