Rietumu Banka experienced the biggest reduction as deposits at this bank fell by 54.5 percent or EUR 1.262 billion from the beginning of this year to EUR 1.055 billion at the end of June. This reduction accounted for nearly 50 percent of total decrease in deposits.
The steepest reduction in percentage terms was for Expobank whose deposits plummeted 79.1 percent or EUR 120.517 million in the first half of this year to EUR 31.849 at the end of June.
At the end of June, all Latvian banks together held EUR 17.541 billion in deposits, down 13.4 percent or EUR 2.726 billion from the end of 2017, the association’s data shows. Deposits grew only in five banks, but dropped in 13 banks.
The association said that the reduction occurred primarily in the segment of non-resident deposits. Overall, deposits have been declining in Latvian banks since 2016.
At the end of June 2018, Swedbank had the largest deposit portfolio, worth EUR 4.604 billion, which had grown by 4.3 percent from the end of 2017. Deposits at Luminor Bank contracted 7.8 percent over the six months of 2018 to EUR 2.712 billion, and deposits at SEB Banka rose 2.5 percent to EUR 2.442 billion.
Citadele Bank held EUR 1.939 billion in deposits at the end of June 2018, down 9.1 percent from the end of last year, and Rietumu Banka saw deposits shrink 54.5 percent to EUR 1.055 billion.
Meanwhile, deposits rose not only at Swedbank and SEB Banka, but also the Latvian branch of OP Corporate Bank (104.1 percent), the Latvian branch of Danske Bank (67.4 percent) and the Latvian branch of BigBank (0.7 percent).
Apart from Luminor Bank, Citadele and Rietumu Banka, deposits dropped 13.1 percent at BlueOrange Bank, 24.2 percent at Norvik Banka, 9.8 percent at Regionala Investiciju Banka, 22.3 percent at Meridian Trade Bank, 8.2 percent at Baltic International Bank, 0.5 percent at Rigensis Bank, 4.8 percent at PrivatBank, 15.6 percent at Signet Bank, 18.3 percent at LPB Bank, and 79.1 percent at Expobank.
The association’s data also shows that corporate loans at the Latvian banks totaled EUR 8.181 billion and personal loans EUR 8.208 at the end of June 2018.
