E*TRADE Goes Nordic

In a move aimed at expanding its global presence to include the Scandinavian market, online financial company E*TRADE Group, Inc. today announced it signed a master licensing agreement to form E*TRADE Nordic.

Working with a start-up Swedish company backed by local entrepreneurs, the
agreement will provide E*TRADE Nordic with exclusive rights to utilize
E*TRADE’s brand, technology, service and product lines in Sweden, Norway,
Denmark, Finland and Iceland. Financial details were not disclosed.

“With the formation of E*TRADE Nordic we intend to capitalize on a highly
developed region with one of the highest levels of PC and Internet usage in
the world,” said Judy Balint, president and chief operating officer of E*TRADE
International.

“Because the Nordic countries were one of the earliest
adopters of the Internet and their populations eagerly embrace new technology, we foresee the emergence of a vibrant and active online investing community through E*TRADE Nordic.”

The company added, however, that while it plans to fully implement the licensing agreement, there are a number of factors including regulatory restrictions that may cause the business enterprise to not become operational.

The Nordic region, which is projected by industry analysts to be among the fastest growing in Internet usage worldwide over the next several years, will join E*TRADE’s other operations in Europe, Asia, Australia and Canada. The firm is based in Palo Alto, CA.

E*TRADE is an online “portal” targeted at users looking for market and investment information, portfolio management tools, and financial services.