Banks, Financial Services, Good for Business, Latvia

SEB Banka's nine-month profit was EUR 44.897 mln, which is a 71% rise year-on-year.

During the nine-month period the banking group's revenue in Latvia rose by 17% against the same period last year to EUR 89.2 mln, while costs grew 5% to EUR 37.7 mln. The SEB Group's earnings before provisions expanded 27% year-on-year to EUR 51.5 mln.

In the nine months of this year, the SEB Group put aside EUR 4.4 mln in provisions, which was two times less than a year ago.

Deposits at SEB Banka declined 1% from the end of September 2015 to EUR 2.07 bln at the end of September 2016, while the bank's loan portfolio grew by 1% to EUR 2.5 bln.

The SEB Group's assets stood at EUR 3.38 bln at the end of September.

In Martinsone's words, SEB Banka granted over 11,300 loans worth EUR 459 mln in total over the nine months of 2016, which was a 29 % increase against the same period last year. Of this amount EUR 352 mln or 77% were lent to businesses and EUR 107 mln to individuals.

"We are glad about the loan portfolio's dynamic which shows that the old loans are being repaid and new financing projects are being launched for businesses and individuals. We have been taking proactive steps, not only by providing consultations to clients and day-to-day financing services, but also by developing a number of digital solutions," said SEB Banka CEO Ieva Tetere.

She added that the bank has been working to ensure compliance with VISA and MasterCard standards and contactless payment support by 2020. Tetere also noted that more than 1,180 POS terminals supporting contactless payment were put into operation across Latvia by the end of September.

The SEB Group's capital adequacy ratio was 20.5% and liquidity ratio 32.9% at the end of September.

In the first nine months of 2015, the SEB Group in Latvia made EUR 28.042 mln in profit, while the bank's profit was EUR 26.259 mln.

SEB Banka is the fourth largest bank in Latvia by assets.