UPDATE 2-Roskilde's branches gobbled up by Danish peers

(Adds background, Nordea comment, Vestjysk Bank)

By Kim McLaughlin

COPENHAGEN, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Three competitors on Monday gobbled up the healthy branches of failed Danish bank Roskilde ROSK.CO in the latest case of consolidation in Denmark's fragmented retail banking industry.

Roskilde Bank A/S ROSK.CO, which has been effectively nationalised by Denmark's central bank, said on Monday it had sold its branches to Nordea Bank AB (NDA.ST), Spar Nord Bank A/S (SPNO.CO) and Arbejdernes Landsbank as it seeks to wind down its business.

Nordea, the Nordic region's biggest bank, would buy nine branches, while mid-sized Danish peers Spar Nord Bank and Arbejdernes Landsbank would by seven and five respectively, Roskilde said in a statement.

Analysts have said an increasingly sharp downturn in the Danish real estate market coupled with a squeeze on liquidity may mean the end for many of the dozens of small, regional banks that handle the savings of hundreds of thousands of Danes.

There are more than 130 banks but the top five retail lenders hold close to 80 percent of the market.

Nordea, Denmark's second-largest bank by market share, said it was interested in further acquisitions in Denmark.

"We're able to acquire. We have the financial strength necessary and the capital required to solve our funding requirements, so we are definitely in the market," Nordea's Danish retail banking director Anders Jensen told Reuters on the sidelines of a news conference.

In a separate deal, Denmark's Vestjysk Bank A/S (VJBA.CO) said it planned to buy smaller peers Ringkjobing Bank A/S RIBA.CO and Bonusbanken A/S (BONU.CO) after the lenders had both been forced into larger-than-expected loan writedowns. [ID:nLT450130].

REAL ESTATE SECTOR

In August, Denmark's central bank, with help from the financial sector, stepped in to save Roskilde, brought low by bad loans to the slumping real estate sector.

The central bank has since been looking to sell the activities of the lender, Denmark's eighth-largest retail bank by customer market share in August.

The three buyers would be taking over loans of about 10 billion Danish crowns ($2 billion) and deposits of about 5 billion, once approval has been granted by competition authorities, Roskilde said.

The difference will be paid in cash. To this should be added 550 million crowns in goodwill which will also be paid in cash, Roskilde said.

Nordea said it was paying 47 million euros ($68.8 million) for its nine branches with 152 employees, further strengthening its position in the Zealand region.

In total, Nordea said it would acquire a 42,000 household customers and 6,000 corporate customers with 5.5 billion crowns in well-diversified lending and 2.7 billion crowns in deposits.

Spar Nord said its seven branches had lending of 2.4 billion crowns and deposits of 1.6 billion with just under 30,000 customers. (Editing by Sue Thomas and David Holmes)