The SEB Bank is merging its three Baltic banks into one, bank representatives have told the LETA News Agency. The head office will be in Estonia with branches in Latvia and Lithuania.
The bank is seeking supervisory approval from each country’s authorities and from the European Central Bank. The hope is that the new legal structure will be in place at the beginning of 2027.
SEB plans this merger so as to strengthen its position in the Baltic market, expand its ability to finance businesses, and to simply the management structure, the bank said. Pooling of capital will enable the bank to provide financing for new and major projects whilst also supporting the growth and willingness of entrepreneurs to invest in development.
“These changes will bring clear benefits to our corporate clients, because the bank will be better prepared to handle a growing number of long-term and large-scale projects across the Baltics,” says the director of the SEB Baltic Division, Niina Aikas.
She also argued that simplified management will make it possible to bring new products and solutions to the market more quickly.
“SEB has long-term goals in the Baltic region, and we are committed to the further development of our operations here,” the bank representative added.
Latvia’s central bank, the Bank of Latvia, told LETA that the decision to reorganise SEB is related to the business interests of the SEB Group and represents and effort to simplify its legal structure and management model.
The central bank also noted that the SEB Group decision is just a first step in a lengthy process. There will be the need to gain permission from the bank’s direct supervisor, the ECB, before the reorganisation can take place.
“This is a regulated process which will begin as soon as the documents are submitted to the Bank of Latvia and the ECB, as required by regulations,” the Bank of Latvia added.
The central bank also pointed out that the SEB Group is already operating as a single entity in the Baltic States, which means that the changes will not affect the bank’s customers. Accustomed financial services and the bank’s presence in Latvia will remain at existing levels.
“The merger is a legal process which will take place gradually, and customers will learn about the progress,” the central bank said. “The Latvian branch of the Luminor Bank is currently operating in Latvia on the basis of the same process that is planned in the case of the SEB Bank merger.”
The ECB will remain the direct supervisor of SEB after the reorganisation.
“The Bank of Latvia believes that it is important to have a single market for financial services and to have access to modern and convenient services at a reasonable cost at all levels of the EU’s member states,” the central bank concluded. “The Bank of Latvia will act in accordance with the regulatory framework and, in co-operation with the ECB, we will ensure that the reorganisation process is well supervised so that we can inform the public at large about decisions that are taken.”
SEB Bank is the second largest bank in Latvia by assets, according to the Bank of Latvia. Last year, the SEB Group’s audited profits in Latvia amounted to EUR 152.4 million.
Source: BNS
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