The Norwegian Financial Supervisory Authority published a supervisory report on Nordea Bank Abp, Branch in Norway, focused on retail clients’ trading in financial instruments. The report concludes that the branch did not provide sufficiently clear, balanced and non-misleading information about key limitations in the advice and product range offered through its “Nora” robo-adviser and that disclosures on costs and fees were at times unclear, incomplete and potentially misleading. The review assessed the branch’s digital investment tools (Nora and “Fondsvelgeren”) and related website information, and found that Nora’s restricted fund universe and the basis for recommendations were not made sufficiently transparent, including where clients could be steered towards an insurance-based “fund account” product without clear explanation of what that choice implies compared with buying the underlying fund directly. The authority also highlighted that funds offered to clients with sustainability preferences were significantly more expensive than those offered to clients without such preferences, while the solution did not provide readily accessible information enabling comparison, and recommended more balanced information on sustainability preferences. On pricing, the report points to inconsistent terminology and presentation of costs (including a headline annual management fee range that could be understood as applying to all funds), limited accessibility of fuller cost information, and instances where customer documentation showed incomplete breakdowns of cost components; it also identified cases of missing or insufficient documentation for suitability testing and customer agreements. Nordea’s Norway branch reported that it had implemented and planned further changes, including harmonising terminology and updating website disclosures in May 2025, correcting earlier errors, and updating cost statements to show total costs in line with MiFID-related requirements, as well as providing additional customer documentation and describing record-keeping improvements. The Norwegian Financial Supervisory Authority noted these measures.
Norwegian Finanstilsynet 2025-06-25
Norwegian Financial Supervisory Authority finds shortcomings in Nordea Norway branch’s Nora robo-adviser disclosures and fee information
The Norwegian Financial Supervisory Authority reported deficiencies in Nordea Bank Abp's Norway branch regarding clarity and transparency for retail clients using its "Nora" robo-adviser. The report criticized fund recommendations, cost disclosures, and sustainability preference information. Nordea has made changes, updating website disclosures and cost statements.