Financial Services

Nils Melngailis and Erkki Raasuke.

Melngailis is currently Operating Executive at Centerbridge Partners in London. Prior to joining Centerbridge, Melngailis worked four years as Co-Head of Financial Services at Alvarez & Marsal. Before moving to London, Melngailis worked for two years as president and chairman on the transformation of Parex Bank into Citadele Bank and Reverta in Latvia and four years as the CEO and chairman of the telecom operator Lattelecom.He has also held senior executive positions at IBM and PriceWaterhouseCoopers.

Melngailis has been appointed as an independent Chairman of the Board with regards to Nordea and DNB.

Erkki Raasuke has been appointed the CEO of the combined bank. Raasuke is currently Managing Director of the LHV Group in Estonia.

Nordea said in a statement to the press that this is another milestone in setting up the new organization, and the transaction is on track to close around the second quarter of 2017, reaching several key milestones on the way such as presenting the new management team as well as the new brand for the bank. The ambition is to create a leading customer centric primary Baltic bank, featuring service and operational excellence.

Melngailis said in a statement to the press that it is an honor to be selected as Chairman of the Board. "I look forward to working with Erkki Raasuke and the DNB and Nordea teams to build the organization and to develop and strengthen banking services to customers in the Baltic region. Erkki Raasuke is a proven CEO with more than 20 years of extensive cross-border retail banking experience in the Baltics which makes him a great CEO of the new organization," says Melngailis.

"I am very excited to take on the role of CEO of the future combined bank. The way I see it, this is not just a combination, it is the starting point for a more focused and a faster moving bank. I look forward to meeting all employees and start working on creating a new bank with a strong local focus that brings our business closer to the customers," says Raasuke, CEO of the proposed combined bank.

Raasuke is currently Managing Director of the LHV Group in Estonia. Prior to joining LHV Group, Raasuke worked as Counsellor to the Minister at the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications in Estonia. Raasuke has extensive retail banking experience from his 18 year tenure at Swedbank and Hansabank, most recently as Swedbank’s Group CFO and Member of the Group Executive Committee. Raasuke has been appointed as an independent CEO with regards to Nordea and DNB.

Raasuke will assume the position of CEO of the holding company of the proposed new bank by January 2017 at the latest. Melngailis is proposed as Chairman of the holding company of the proposed combined bank and will be operating as a working chairman. Up until closing of the proposed combined bank, Raasuke and Melngailis will assume their respective roles and lead the planned transformation process into the future combined bank. Upon closing, Raasuke and Melngailis will take up their positions as CEO and Chairman of the proposed combined bank.

The transaction is conditional upon regulatory approvals and conditions, and is expected to close around the second quarter of 2017. The banks will operate independently under current management until all necessary approvals have been received.

As reported, the merger of the DNB and Nordea operations in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia will create the second-largest bank in the Baltics.