Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš announced February 20 that he was giving officials just over one month to draw up "substantial" reforms to the anti- money laundering system currently operating in Latvia.
A new edition of the Financial Sector Update bulletin that is part of the government's drive to improve the reputation of the financial sector, has been published at the Cabinet of Ministers website.
The Danish lender Danske Bank will close all of its banking activities in the Baltic countries and Russia.
Latvia is officially giving up on its former ambitions to become a regional financial hub, after the government on February 12 discussed Finance Ministry proposals to delete wording expressing such hopes from the country's Financial Sector Development Plan.
Last year 2.4 million flash payments worth €494 million were made in Latvia last year, the Bank of Latvia reported.
Retail bank Luminor announced February 4 it would be laying off around 800 members of staff in the Balic states during 2019, including 250 in Latvia.
The European Commission has approved the acquisition of sole control over Luminor Bank of Estonia by the United States-based Blackstone Group.
Latvia's ABLV bank, which is currently undergoing a liquidation process in the wake of allegations of massive money-laundering, has found a buyer for its Luxembourg subsidiary, the bank announced January 16.
Latvian banks have been consistently in the international headlines over the last year - often, but not always, for the wrong reasons - and with a major reform underway to try to turn around the sector's reputation, the financial regulator has unveiled a new, easy-to-read quarterly report to keep abreast of current trends. And it's available in English as well as Latvian.
Latvia's financial regulator, the Financial and Capital Market Commission (FKTK) announced a substantial fine December 21 against another of the country's banks.
Latvia's ambassador to the United States of America, Andris Teikmanis, warned December 19 that Latvia's attempts to improve the international reputation of its banking sector still were not complete and the risk of being put on a damaging "gray list" of high-risk countries for financial transactions remained real.
Latvia's financial regulator, the Financial and Capital Markets Commission (FKTK) released a statement on the evening of November 28 insisting that the SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) international payment system was operating normally in Latvia, in an apparent rebuttal of statements made by Finance Minister Dana Reizniece-Ozola on November 27.
Instant payments are available to more than 90% of bank customers in Latvia, said Bank of Latvia spokesman Janis Silakalns.
The latest change in Latvia's transforming banking sector came November 9 with retail bank Norvik announcing a name change. In future it will be known as "PNB banka".
Latvia's financial regulator, the Financial and Capital Markets Commission (FKTK) released graphics November 6 designed to show the scale of reforms enacted during recent months.
Latvia's banking sector is being transformed in a fundamental way so that it is no longer reliant upon foreign deposits of dubious origin, the country's financial regulator insisted October 31.
Latvia's financial regulator, the Financial and Capital Markets Commission (FKTK) on October 19 announced fines to be paid by two Latvian banks. One was relatively minor, but another was one of the stiffest it has ever handed out.
Following the announcement of sanctions by the U.S. Treasury against a Latvia-registered business, the country's main industry group of banks and other financial sector players has said it will have a "zero tolerance" policy towards any of its members caught breaking sanctions
This past summer, the Latvian State Police opened a criminal case on possible money laundering schemes at ABLV Bank, which is currently undergoing a liquidation process.
It's certainly been an eventful year in the life of the Latvian central bank, Latvijas Banka.
Latvian Prime Minister Māris Kučinskis gained a byline in world-famous British newspaper The Financial Times September 30 with an opinion piece talking about government plans to tackle money-laundering and financial crime.
By September 18, about 3,300 creditors of the ABLV Bank, which is in the process of folding, have submitted claims for €2 billion, or about 98% of the bank's total obligations.
On 25 September, the Latvian government approved what it called a "comprehensive Action Plan" in response to the recommendations included in Moneyval’s recent evaluation of Latvia’s anti-money laundering system, which has been in sharp focus ever since ABLV bank's fortunes nosedived in the wake of money laundering accusations from the U.S. authorities.
On Wednesday, 26 September, Latvijas Banka is issuing a 2 euro commemorative coin dedicated to the Zemgale region of Latvia.
The level of non-resident deposits (NRDs) in the Latvian banking sector continues to fall according to latest information released by the Financial and Capital Market Commission (FKTK), the industry regulator.
Luminor, a bank formed from the merging of the Baltic operations of DNB and Nordea, announced September 13 that it is selling a majority stake to a consortium led by private equity funds managed by investment company Blackstone.
The Financial Sector Development Council, a working group called by Prime Minister Māris Kučinskis in the wake of the ABLV bank scandal, on 11 September approved an action plan to strengthen Latvia’s anti-money laundering capabilities, and its ability to combat the financing of terrorism and weapons
proliferation, a statement from the government press office said.
proliferation, a statement from the government press office said.
Bank of Latvia President Ilmārs Rimšēvičs has appointed his deputy Zoja Razmusa as his proxy to represent him on the European Central Bank (ECB) Council, the Latvian central bank’s spokesman Janis Silakalns told the LETA newswire September 10.
The body representing most of Latvia's commercial banks said September 6 the banking sector had shown signs of stabilization in the second quarter of the year following a turbulent first quarter.
During a meeting with the European Parliament's Special Committee on Financial Crimes, Tax Evasion and Tax Avoidance (TAX3) delegation, Pēters Putniņš, Chairman of the Financial and Capital Market Commission (FKTK) talked up a "radical transformation of the Latvian bank business model" according to a statement released by FKTK September 5.