Baltic States – CIS, Banks, Financial Services, Investments, Latvia

"A capital increase is an important aspect, but mostly what we are awaiting from the new potential investor, is the ability to give the bank a new impulse, attract new markets, products and technologies," said Jelena Tarnovska, director of Trasta komercbanka’ss public relations department.

She said the plan "is not directly connected with difficulties in Ukraine."

The sale process began at the end of last year when Trasta komercbanka offered to sell a 51% stake and hired NorthStar Corporate Finance to help find a buyer, according to a presentation obtained by Bloomberg and confirmed by the bank.

Another Trasta komercbanka spokeswoman, Elina Bikulca, declined to say whether the bank was still planning to sell the same stake and did not comment on a possible price.

The search for an investor follows Trasta komercbanka’s struggles in Ukraine, where it had claims totaling EUR 12.8 million on two local banks that were declared insolvent this year.

Trasta komercbanka is among Latvian banks that have attracted deposits from the former Soviet Union since 1991 and served as a payment center for businesses in the region. Its shareholders boosted capital by EUR 15 million in July, after the bank recorded a EUR 12.5 million loss in 2014 and a EUR 1.8 million loss in the second quarter of this year.