Latvia's retail banks have agreed to raise the standard limit for "contactless" transactions to 50 euros from the previous 25 euros, saying that doing so will potentially help counter the spread of coronavirus via buttons and keypads.
If you're stuck at home doing your bit for social distancing, what better way to pass the time than by weighing up the comparative aesthetic merits of a small selection of Latvian coinage?
Swedbank, the largest retail bank in the Baltic states, has published a report by law firm Clifford Chance, which the bank hired in February 2019 to conduct an investigation of Swedbank’s anti-money laundering work. Swedbank has now made the report available at www.swedbank.com.
The Latvian Central Bank (Latvijas Banka, LB) said March 13 it has joined the global Network of Central Banks and Supervisors for Greening the Financial System (Network for Greening the Financial System; NGFS).
In what it said was an important milestone, on March 5, Baltic bank Luminor anounced that it had issued the first covered bonds from the Baltic region a day earlier, to the tune of 500 million euros.
The Board of the Latvian central bank, Latvijas Banka (LB), said March 2 it had approved financial statements for 2019 according to which Latvijas Banka's profit for the year totalled 27.2 million euros, a 45% increase on 2018's figure.
Half a billion non-cash payments were made in Latvia last year according to figures published by the central bank, Latvijas Banka, February 25.
The American Chamber of Commerce in Latvia (AmCham) said February 24 it welcomed the "tremendous work" done by the government and law enforcement agencies over the last yeat to keep Latvia off a list of money-laundering problem countries and to win a ratings upgrade at the same time, as previously reported by LSM.
In an important announcement February 21 it was revealed that Latvia has not been placed on an international "gray list" of high-risk money-laundering countries, which could have had a devastating effect on the banking system and national economy.
The European Central Bank (ECB) decided to withdraw the authorisation of JSC "PNB Banka" February 17, a full five months after it was proposed by Latvia's financial regulator, the Financial and Capital Market Commission (FKTK).
For those who began using the Smart-ID online authentication app three years ago, this year their accounts will expire and around 60,000 people will need to update their personal information, according to the Latvian Radio broadcast “Eiro fokusā” on February 11.
Swedish bank SEB has named a new head of its Baltic banking operations.
In an unusual move February 3, Latvia's financial regulator, the Financial and Capital Markets Commission (FCMC in English, FKTK in Latvian) said it was "recalling" a media press release it originally issued ten months earlier.
A court has ordered the detention of Andris Ovsjaņņikovs, a former ABLV Bank private banker in connection with an ongoing €50 million money laundering investigation, reports Latvian Radio.
2019 profits for Latvian monetary financial institutions (MFIs), mainly banks, were 117.1 million euros, which is 2.5 times less than in 2018, according to Latvian central bank Latvijas Banka statistics published on January 29.
Police have conducted investigations at various Latvian banks associated with the non-resident banking sector, according to unofficial information reported by Latvian Television (LTV) January 29.
Latvia's Citadele Bank and state-owned development finance institution ALTUM have signed a contract that will allow small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to receive ALTUM portfolio guarantees in the near future, it was announced January 27.
Meridian Trade Bank (MTB) said January 22 it is changing its name to "Industra".
A year-long crackdown on Latvian banks' reputation for money laundering and sanctions dodging appeared to have paid dividends January 22 with official recognition of its success from an important international organization.
Details were published January 17 of the ongoing liquidation of ABLV bank, which collapsed in the wake of a damning U.S. Treasury report in 2018.
The Latvian government has published the latest in its series of English-language financial sector updates as effforts continue to persuade the international community that Latvia's banking sector is no longer in the business of aiding money laundering and tax evasion.
President of Latvia Egils Levits had a meeting with new central bank governor Mārtiņš Kazāks January 6, using the occasion to to voice his confidence in the man who will also be Latvia's voice on the governing council of the European Central Bank.
SEB bank lost its hitherto clean record with the Latvian financial regulator December 20 when it was hit with penalties totalling nearly 1.8 million euros for failures in its anti- money laundering and sanctions systems.
Sweden's financial regulator announced December 18 it is launching "a sanction case in the investigation into Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB’s (SEB) governance and control of measures to combat money laundering in the bank’s subsidiaries in the Baltic countries."
Long-serving and controversial Latvian central bank governor Ilmārs Rimšēvičs gave a final presentation at the end of his 18-year tenure December 16. On 20 December 2001 Rimšēvičs was appointed governor of Latvijas Banka.
Latvia's financial regulator, the Financial and Capital Market Commission (FKTK) said December 12 that while it was helping to fully implement U.S, sanctions against Aivars Lembergs, it was also working to ensure any wider damage to the economy was minimised.
Economist Mārtiņš Kazāks will become the new governor of the Latvian central bank (LB) December 21 after his candidacy was approved by Saeima on December 12.
Latvia's Citadele bank announced December 11 it has agreed to acquire UniCredit’s leasing operations in the Baltics with its lease portfolio of more than 850 million euros.
Swedbank, the largest financial institution in the Baltic states, announced December 9 it was getting rid of its head of Baltic banking, in the wake of recent Swedish TV reports on failures in anti- money laundering safeguards from the bank's Estonian operations.
Latvia's financial regulator, the Financial and Capital Market Commission (FKTK) said December 6 it was imposing a 1.5 million euro fine on Baltic International Bank (BIB) "for deficiencies in the Bank’s internal control system."