STOCKHOLM (Sweden) - SWEDEN'S Nordea AB and Denmark's Spar Nord Bank and Arbejdernes Landsbank will buy 21 branches of troubled Roskilde Bank for 550 million kroner (S$154.8 million), they said on Monday.

The three banks also said they will take over loans worth 10 billion kroner and deposits worth 5 billion kroner.

The Danish central bank took over Roskilde Bank in Aug after the turmoil on global financial markets and falling house prices in Denmark had forced it to take write-downs of up to 900 million kroner on property development loans.

Nordea said its part of the deal includes the acquisition of nine branches of Roskilde Bank for 47 million euro (S$98.89 million), including 42,000 private customers and 6,000 corporate customers.

It said it will replace an estimated funding gap in those branches of 2.8 billion kroner with its own funds.

However, it said the acquisition will strengthen its position in the Zealand region in Denmark and that the integration of the branches into its network of banks will create cost synergies.

Spar Nord Bank will buy seven branches and Arbejdernes Landsbank will take over five.

Roskilde Bank's corporate finance branch in Glostrup is not included in the deal.

The takeovers must be approved by the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority.

Shares in Nordea fell 2.87 per cent to 84.7 kronor in Stockholm. -- AP