General Guidelines for Supplier Management

The guidelines below are an excerpt from KBN's General Guidelines for Supplier Management. This article of overall guidelines is issued in Norwegian and have been translated into English. In case of discrepancy between the two versions, the Norwegian version shall prevail.

1. Purpose

The purpose of these guidelines is to ensure that:

• procurement promotes the efficient use of the Bank’s resources
• goods and services purchased are of a quality and security level appropriate to the scope and significance of the goods or services for KBN
• KBN acts responsibly and with integrity when purchasing, following up on service deliveries, and terminating supplier relationships
• risks originating from suppliers remain within the operational risk appetite, and that such risks are assessed on a regular basis

2. Scope

These guidelines apply to all purchases made by KBN, except for the purchase of financial instruments.

3. Principles for Procurement

Competition
As a general rule, purchases shall be based on competition. This means that the administration must obtain genuine and comparable offers from a reasonable number of suppliers. What constitutes a reasonable number depends on the specific purchase.

Equal Treatment and Predictability
Relevant suppliers shall be given equal opportunities to compete for contracts with KBN.

The administration shall facilitate predictability for suppliers participating in the process. This includes, for example, ensuring that awards are based on objective criteria that, as far as practicable, are defined in advance. KBN will therefore actively counteract discriminatory practices in procurement processes.

KBN shall avoid acting opportunistically to obtain short‑term gains in a procurement process.

KBN has a reputation as a professional, reliable, and long‑term partner. The principle of equal treatment and predictability is important for protecting KBN’s reputation.

Contract Terms
Purchases shall be made on contract terms that ensure the purpose of the purchase is fulfilled. Jurisdiction and governing law are particularly important in agreements regulating the processing of personal data, confidential information, outsourced services, the purchase of IT services, hiring assignments, or the use of subcontractors.

Accountability and Verifiability
The procurement process shall be documented to facilitate sound financial management and effective contract and supplier follow‑up. In practice, this means that procurement processes shall be conducted in writing. Relevant parties must be able to verify that procedures have been followed. In the event of a complaint or dispute, written documentation will help establish the facts.

Security
For IT purchases (hardware, software, or IT services), KBN shall conduct a security assessment of the service and the supplier before entering into an agreement.

Impartiality
A conflict of interest exists if a person acting on behalf of KBN is considered to have a significant personal or financial interest in a procurement, cf. KBN’s Code of Ethics.

If a conflict of interest exists for a person acting on behalf of KBN, that person shall not participate in the processing or decision‑making related to the procurement. Individuals involved in KBN’s procurement processes shall continuously assess their own impartiality.

Sustainability
Procurement processes shall contribute to promoting KBN’s objectives for sustainable business operations in accordance with the overarching sustainability guideline. This means that purchases shall, to the extent possible, avoid negative environmental impact, and climate‑friendly solutions shall be chosen where relevant. The purchase shall promote respect for fundamental human rights and labor rights, gender equality, diversity, ethics, and social conditions. KBN shall not use suppliers involved in corruption or money laundering. Procurements shall be conducted in a manner that ensures KBN has reasonable oversight of suppliers’ and subcontractors’ use of subcontractors, and that KBN’s sustainability objectives are promoted throughout the entire supply chain.

Proportionality
The procurement process shall be carried out in a manner that is reasonably proportionate to the nature, value, and risk of the purchase.

The other principles shall therefore be applied proportionately. This means that they may be deviated from on the basis of proportionality, provided that the decision is documented. For example, the principle of competition may be waived if no real competition exists in the relevant market and the purchaser explains this in a memo.

The Chief Executive Officer may specify the proportional approach based on monetary thresholds or types of purchases in the supplementary guidelines.

4. Entry into force

These guidelines enter into force from the date they are approved.