Baltic States – CIS, Financial Services, Latvia, Press-release

Alexander Kalinovski.

As a result of the deal, Rietumu Bank has become the owner of 67% of the "Savings Company", the rest 33% of company's share capital are owned by Ukrainian partner.

Rietumu Group inform that the acquisition of the "Savings Company" is "subsequent logical landmark in Rietumu Group’s enlargement and development of financial and investment services" and that "regional and international growth coupled with geographic diversification of the business has always been and remain one of the Group’s core priorities".

At present, Rietumu Group efficiently works with customers not only in the Baltics, but also in the CIS and European Union countries, amongst others. The Bank has a wide network of branches outside Latvia, including offices in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Minsk, Vilnius, Alma-Ata, Prague, Bucharest and in Ukraine’s capital city – Kiev. Acquisition of the Ukrainian brokerage company is to become a successive milestone towards strengthening Rietumu Group’s presence in Ukraine.

"Nowadays Ukraine is among one of the most progressive and dynamically developing markets in Central Europe. Its financial market, on one hand, is attractive to those customers of Rietumu Group, who are willing to invest into the growing economy of this particular country, and to the Group itself. On the other hand, as a result of the deal, our new Ukrainian customers get access to high-level financial services", said Rietumu Bank's President Alexander Kalinovski.

“As a result of the deal with RB Securities, Oschadna Companya is now part of a well-known regional financial group. We can now extensively use Rietumu Group’s considerable financial markets experience, as well as to attract new resources, which is by all means beneficial to our customers”, noticed Serge Kachan, General Director of Oschadna Companya.

Oschadna Companya offers a wide range of brokerage and depository services in the financial securities market of Ukraine. The company’s customers can conclude deals with all types of securities offered in the country. Oschadna also offers securities depository services to private securities holders and corporate stock issuers and plans to undertake financing of Ukrainian securities deals as well as to introduce other financial products and services in future.

Acquisition of Oschadna Companya is the second strategic deal completed by Rietumu Bank this year. In spring 2008, Rietumu Bank became the owner of Russian and Belarusian leasing companies belonging to WestLeasing Group. The Bank plans further expansion of its presence in global markets, including projects to open a new representative office in one of the Western European countries.