Latvian monetary financial institutions (MFIs), mainly banks, generated total profits of EUR 461.7mn in the first ten months of 2024, which was down 22.6% from EUR 596.2mn in the same period of 2023, according to data from the Bank of Latvia, LETA reports. The total assets of MFIs amounted to EUR 29.23bn at the end…
The US Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has removed Latvia’s ABLV Bank from its list of financial institutions posing a risk of money laundering, LSM reports. The European Central Bank revoked ABLV’s banking licence in 2018 after FinCEN added the bank to the list. ABLV’s liquidation is now nearly complete, and the bank…
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) expects the Latvian and Lithuanian economies to grow and the Estonian economy to contract in 2024, LSM reports. The bank lowered its GDP growth forecast for Estonia and Latvia, but raised its forecast for Lithuania. EBRD now expects Estonia’s GDP to decline by 0.8% in 2024, down…
The Latvian parliament, the Saeima, has passed amendments mandating the country’s largest banks to provide in-person customer service and to maintain a network of ATMs outside big cities as of 2026, LSM reported. The new rules will apply to Swedbank, SEB, Citadele, and Luminor. Currently, the big banks have no permanent customer service points in…
The financial regulatory authorities of the eight Nordic and Baltic countries have conducted a financial crisis simulation exercise under the Nordic Baltic Stability Group framework, ERR reports. The exercise was aimed at testing preparedness for a potential crisis situation, including in communication, information sharing, and collaboration between the authorities. Around 450 participants representing Nordic, Baltic,…
Latvia’s State Revenue Service (VID) will contact 260 construction companies that are paying atypically low wages to their workers, LETA reports. Speaking in an interview with LTV, VID director general Baiba Smite-Roke noted that the companies were paying wages that were significantly lower than the average. The aim was to ascertain whether the companies were…
Latvia’s banking association, Finance Latvia Association (FNA), opposes a proposed windfall tax on local banks, LETA reports. The association argued that the tax was “disproportionate, short-sighted, and nontransparent.” FNA warned that the tax would have negative long-term consequences, hampering Latvia’s growth, competitiveness, and attractiveness for private investment. The tax would oblige the financial sector to…
The Baltic commercial bank, Luminor Bank, has issued EUR 300mn worth of four-year senior preferred bonds, The Baltic Times reports. The new issue was oversubscribed with EUR 1.6bn in orders from over 130 investors, particularly in the UK. The bonds carry a coupon of 4.042%. At the same time, Luminor repurchased EUR 214.1mn of existing bonds…
Lithuania’s Deputy Minister of Economy and Innovation, Karolis Zemaitis, visited Taiwan on 3-6 September 2024, ELTA reported. During his visit, the minister met with officials at Taiwan’s Ministry of Digital Affairs and Ministry of Economic Affairs as well as with potential investors. He had meetings with representatives of several local banks and major companies in…