Tor Moursund
 Tor Moursund  (banker, lawyer) | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 1927 Tromsø, Norway |
| Died | 1996 (Age 69) |
| Nationality | Norwegian |
| Alma mater | University of Oslo |
A towering figure in Norwegian banking from the 1960s until his death in 1996. Attended the 1981 and 1982 Bilderberg meetings. | |
Tor Moursund was a Norwegian lawyer and banker. Moursund was a towering figure in Norwegian banking from the 1960s until his death in 1996. Under his leadership, Kreditkassen developed into a modern major bank with the entire country as a market, but the expansion also made the bank vulnerable during the 1980s speculation boom and following banking crisis in the early 1990s.[1] He attended the 1981 and 1982 Bilderberg meetings.
Background
Moursund grew up in Tromsø and took his degree in law at the University of Oslo in 1950.[1]
A side of Moursund's activities that was little known because he himself never spoke about it, was his part in the Norwegian resistance. His father was arrested by the Gestapo in 1943, sent to a concentration camp in Germany and never returned. As a young man, Moursund himself followed in his father's footsteps in the resistance movement and was an active member of the home front upon liberation. [1]
Career
His first work assignments were in the north, at the state prosecutor's office in Troms and Finnmark and at the Tromsø police chamber. In 1953–54 he was deputy judge in Romsdal, then deputy attorney in Molde 1955–57, and in 1958–65 he ran his own law firm in partnership with Supreme Court lawyer Odd Wold. He became a became a Supreme Court Attorney in 1963.[1][2]
Moursund made the leap into banking in 1966, when he became managing director of Romsdals Fellesbank. In 1970, he was brought as "crown prince" to Kreditkassen in Oslo, where he was bank manager and member of the board of directors until 1977, and then took over as managing director and CEO from Sven Viig from the same time.[1]
Moursund was heavily involved in the modernization of the Norwegian banking industry. Both as chairman of the Norwegian Banking Association and as the banks' representative on the Banking Democratization Board, he was a solid advocate for his industry. His approach was to avoid polemics, he put everything into creating an understanding of the private banks' tasks and operation, and he was highly respected both in business and in all the political parties in the Storting.[1]
During his period as head of Kreditkassen 1977–90, the bank grew through mergers and acquisitions to become Norway's largest commercial bank. But Kreditkassen, like other banks, was hit by the banking crisis in 1991. It hit full force when Moursund had resigned as managing director and taken over as chairman of the board. The banking crisis took a toll on him, particularly some of the press criticism which called his honesty and integrity into question.[1]
Events Participated in
| Event | Start | End | Location(s) | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bilderberg/1981 | 15 May 1981 | 17 May 1981 | Switzerland Palace Hotel Bürgenstock | The 29th Bilderberg |
| Bilderberg/1982 | 14 May 1982 | 16 May 1982 | Norway Sandefjord | The 30th Bilderberg, held in Norway. |
