A proposal to merge the national stock exchanges of Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and Finland into a single Nordic marketplace is gaining traction, as industry leaders seek to deepen liquidity and attract more listings across the region.
Nordic Compass, an alliance of more than 25 companies, foundations, and organisations, confirmed it is studying the consolidation of the four bourses, along with harmonising regulatory frameworks. The work, however, remains at an exploratory stage, according to Christian Clausen, chair of the alliance's Capital Markets Track and chairman for the Nordics at BlackRock.
"Nordic Compass' Capital Markets Track is working to improve opportunities to raise capital to support competitiveness across all stages, from start-up, venture, growth and scale-up to IPOs, as well as the ecosystem for Nordic listings," Clausen told Euronews. "This includes analyses of a range of potential initiatives, including issues related to liquidity. The work is still at an exploratory stage, and no agreement has yet been reached on specific initiatives or conclusions."
Who is behind the initiative?
Launched in May, Nordic Compass brings together heavyweights such as Wallenberg Investments, EQT, Nordea, SEB, Nasdaq Nordic, Ericsson, Nokia, Saab, Ørsted, and the Novo Nordisk Foundation. The alliance is chaired by former Finnish prime minister Jyrki Katainen and operates across four tracks: capital markets, deep tech, defence, and energy.
The potential prize is substantial. Nordic pension funds and sovereign investors manage close to $4 trillion (€3.43tn) and receive more than $175 billion (€3.43tn) in annual inflows, but that capital is currently dispersed across four separate markets rather than pooled into one.
Any merger would require the cooperation of three key players that do not answer directly to the alliance. Nasdaq operates most of the region's national exchanges, Euronext owns Oslo Børs, and Euroclear plays a central role in settling Nordic securities trades.
Nasdaq did not respond to a request for comment. Euronext, however, signalled openness, telling Euronews that through Oslo Børs, its securities depositories in Norway and Denmark, Nord Pool, and Admincontrol, it has an established Nordic franchise and is "in dialogue with Nordic Compass about potentially contributing to practical measures."
"Euronext welcomes initiatives aimed at making the Nordic capital markets even more competitive globally," the exchange operator added. "The region already benefits from strong market traditions, sophisticated investors and successful local ecosystems. The opportunity is to build on these strengths by making it easier for capital to flow across borders."
Euronext also pointed to its own multi-country structure as a template. "Our experience demonstrates how deeper liquidity, shared technology and harmonised rules can benefit issuers and investors, while our federal model keeps local exchanges close to the markets they serve," a spokesperson concluded.
The alliance's first initiatives are due to be presented at a summit in Gothenburg on 4 and 5 November, where the capital markets proposal is rumoured to be unveiled. Whether the exploratory work will yield concrete measures remains to be seen, but the prospect of a unified Nordic exchange could reshape the region's financial landscape, potentially drawing parallels to broader EU efforts to reduce market fragmentation.
For now, the discussions reflect a growing recognition that scale matters in global capital markets. As European policymakers increasingly focus on financial resilience and competitiveness, the Nordic experiment could offer a model for deeper integration within the wider continent.
