Banks, Crisis, Financial Services, Latvia
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Friday, 26.04.2024, 09:24
Payout of guaranteed deposits to ABLV Bank customers to be started on March 3
"Guaranteed deposits of up to EUR 100,000 will be paid
out starting from March 3 in a Latvian commercial bank selected by the
FKTK," the financial watchdog’s representatives said.
The FKTK did not reveal yet which bank has been selected.
On Friday, March 2, the FKTK will hold a press conference on
this matter.
The FKTK also said that funds of the Latvian Deposit
Guarantee Fund will not be used in this case because ABLV Bank has sufficient
funds to pay out the guaranteed deposits. It has been estimated that EUR 480 mln
should be paid to ABLV Bank’s customers, and the bank has already transferred
this amount to the FKTK’s account.
As reported, shareholders of ABLV Bank at an extraordinary
meeting on Monday made a decision to start the liquidation process in order to
protect interests of its clients and creditors. ABLV Bank believes that in this
way it will be possible to ensure active protection of its customers, the bank
said in a statement.
LETA also reported that the Latvian financial regulator, the
Finance and Capital Market Commission, acting on the instructions from the
European Central Bank (ECB), has ordered ABLV Bank to stop all payments as of
February 19 following a report by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network
(FinCEN) of the U.S. Department of Treasury about ABLV Bank's involvement in
international money laundering schemes and corruption. On February 24, the
Finance and Capital Market Commission made a decision on occurrence of
unavailability of deposits at ABLV Bank.
At the end of September 2017, ABLV Bank was the third
largest bank in Latvia by assets. The bank's majority shareholders Olegs Fils, Ernests Bernis and Nika Berne own, directly and
indirectly, 87.03% of the bank's share capital.