| dc.description.abstract | State ownership in banking has received considerable coverage in the academic literature. However,
there are very few recognised case studies of state ownership of banks in developed countries. The
motivation for this thesis is thus to investigate the properties of state ownership in the context of a
highly developed country
Theoretical and empirical work suggest that the success of government ownership in banks depends
on the quality of government and financial institutions, independent regulation, the rationale for
ownership, and recognition of good corporate governance standards. Apart from some minor issues,
the case study of the Norwegian government's bank ownership supports this view. Institutions are
well developed, the rationale for ownership is moderate, and the government applies corporate
governance standards that are broadly agreed upon. The result is that the government is rather
successful in achieving its goals, and avoiding most of the pitfalls normally associated with
government ownership. | en |
