In a move preceded by days of anticipation in the Icelandic press, and which entailed flying employees from all over the world to Iceland for the weekend, Íslandsbanki announced a new name, logo and new overall brand image at a company meeting on Saturday.
The new name, Glitnir, is drawn from Norse mythology – as a press release from the bank explains,”Glitnir was the home of Forseti, son of the divine pair Baldur and Nanna. Those who came there received a pardon of their misdeeds and all quarrels were settled.”
All of the bank’s subsidiaries and offices will operate under the Glitnir brand.
According to a press release, in recent years, the bank has undergone extensive changes including evolving from an “Icelandic bank” to an international financial company in five countries.
Bjarni Ármannsson, CEO, said this transformation called for a new brand name: “We now work in the international financial market, and this means certain changes had to be made,” he says “Brands must reflect the environment in which they operate, and in our case we need a name that can be used all over the world. We were in the unique position of having a fine-sounding name which is also a well known brand in Iceland, Glitnir, which fits the bill exactly. It has positive connotations for Icelanders, contains a historical reference, is both Icelandic and Nordic, is easy to pronounce in all the main languages involved and also contains no unusual letters or accents.”
