Banks, Financial Services, Latvia, Legislation, USA

Rietumu Banka made the decision to terminate co-operation with 4,000 high-risk companies in March. 

All these former customers had to fulfil strict compliance procedures, confirming the legal nature of the origin of funds. Currently, already 80% of these former customers have completed the compliance process and in most cases had left the bank. Most of other customers are expected to complete the compliance procedures in July. 

“The re-evaluation of our client risk profile in such a short period of time is a process of considerable volume and effort – both for the bank and the customers. It brings substantial changes to our client relationship portfolio,” says Rolf Fuls, Chairman of the Board of Rietumu. “Today, like never before, we need to focus on new directions of business. We, at Rietumu Bank, thanks to timely decisions, are focusing on the transformation of our business, opening accounts and servicing new customers”. 

The progress of Rietumu has been noted by Marshall Billingslea, the Assistant Secretary of the United States Department of the Treasury, who visited Latvia in early June. M. Billingslea positively evaluated the serious approach and progress of Rietumu in implementing the business transformation of the bank. The same evaluation was also supported by Dana Reizniece Ozola, the Minister of Finance of the Republic of Latvia, who noted that “this is a positive example that confirms: if you want to change, you will be able to do it”. 

As reported earlier, Rietumu has completed the first quarter of 2018 with EUR 15.7 million in net profit, which slightly exceeds the result of the same period last year. In terms of profit, Rietumu ranks second among the 18 commercial banks of Latvia. 

Rietumu continues to provide all necessary information and support to customers that are currently undergoing the compliance procedures. Considering that many of these companies have started their operations in the previous years, when the requirements of the law differed significantly, some of them require a longer period of time to prepare the required documentation. Therefore, the bank uses a flexible approach within the permitted legal framework, taking into consideration the specific nature and history of each individual customer.