Christiania Bank major financial crisis in Norway and by 1991 the bank had used up all capital. To save the bank, the Government of Norway took over the bank and gave it new capital, rescuing it from bankruptcy. In the early years of the 1990s, the bank also bought Sunnmørsbanken and Sørlandsbanken. In 1995, the government reduced its ownership to 51%, listing it on the Oslo Stock Exchange, and in 1999 to 35%. The same year, the Swedish MeritaNordbanken bid for the bank, and in 2000 the government sold its shares and the bank became part of Nordea. Christiania Bank was at
Freetown Christiania begin paying normal rent for the facilities, albeit below market rent levels. Christiania has rejected this scenario, fearing the freetown would turn into a normal Copenhagen neighborhood. In particular, the concept of privately owned dwellings is claimed to be incompatible with Christiania's collective ownership. In September 2007, the representatives of Christiania and Copenhagen's city council reached an agreement to cede control of Christiania to the city over the course of 10 years for the purposes of business development. Also, as of May 2009, the Eastern High Court upheld a 2004 Act of Parliament which reaffirmed the state's legal claim to