Danske Bank sells headquarters for $212 mln to Standard Life

COPENHAGEN, March 18 (Reuters) - Danske Bank (LSE: 0NVC.L - news) said it had agreed to sell its head office buildings in central Copenhagen to British insurer and asset manager Standard Life (LSE: SL.L - news) for 1.4 billion Danish crowns ($212 million).

Denmark's largest financial institution will continue to lease the buildings as its head office, Danske Bank said.

The address has been the centre of Danske Bank since 1875 but the bank now said it was no longer expedient to have a large property portfolio.

The complex comprises a total of 14 buildings and the bank has earlier sold and leased back other buildings.

At its annual general meeting on Wednesday it was approved that the bank pay out 8 billion crowns in dividends after the booking a net profit of 17.7 billion crowns in 2015. - the highest in the bank's history.

($1 = 6.6102 Danish crowns) (Reporting by Ole Mikkelsen, editing by David Evans)