Banks, EU – Baltic States, Financial Services, Latvia, Markets and Companies

The bank will open its Latvian branch office for corporate customers in Riga to extend the range of services provided by the bank in the Baltic States, Pohjola Bank plc Latvian branch Marketing and PR Director Armands Sterns informed the Nozare.lv business portal.

Pohjola Bank plc's Latvian branch will provide services only for corporate customers. Financing provided by the bank is already used by several large Latvian companies. For example, last May saw the conclusion of the second loan contract with the state joint-stock railroad company Latvijas dzelzcels for allocation of EUR 19.1 million credit, writes LETA.

In addition to the currently available credit services, the Latvian branch of Pohjola Bank plc will offer its customers payment and money transaction services, said Elmars Priksans, manager of Pohjola Bank plc's Latvian branch.

In summer of 2011, Pohjola Bank plc opened a branch office in Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. Now the bank will also start to operate in Latvia. In Lithuania, the bank offers leasing products and is planning to open a branch for corporate banking customers in the future.

Mikael Silvennoinen, President and CEO of Pohjola Bank plc, will arrive in Riga to participate in the opening ceremony of the Latvian branch office. "The Baltic countries play an important role in "Pohjola's" strategy and in the improvement in international service capabilities. We want to provide better and better services to our existing and potential customers," said Silvennoinen.

Customer focus, flexibility and speed are the main operational criteria for Pohjola Bank plc – each case is especially adjusted to the needs of the customer. "We have long-term experience in in-depth knowledge of customer business needs and wishes. It forms the foundation for forging long-term relationships in close cooperation. In Latvia, we see a growing market, especially in agriculture, production and the energy and transport sectors. And these sectors require a strong financing partner for development which we aim to become," Silvennoinen added.

Pohjola Bank plc is the most significant subsidiary of Finland's largest financial services group OP-Pohjola Group. The bank serves corporate customers by providing an extensive range of financial, investment, cash-management and non-life insurance services. It offers non-life insurance and private banking services to private customers. Pohjola Series A shares have been listed on the "Large Cap List" of the "NASDAQ OMX" Helsinki since 1989. The number of shareholders totals around 34,000. Pohjola's consolidated earnings before tax came to EUR 258 million in 2011 and the balance sheet total amounted to EUR 41 billion on December 31, 2011.

In 2012, financial magazine "Global Finance" ranked Pohjola Bank plc 33th out of the 50 most secure banks. Moody's and Standard and Poor's, two largest rating agencies in the world, have affirmed double A level rating for Pohjola.

According to the statistics at the end of 2011, OP-Pohjola Group is the largest provider of financial services in Finland and the market leader according to the amount of the issued loans. In Finland, OP-Pohjola Group is the leader in the allocation of deposits. With a staff of over 13,000, OP-Pohjola Group posted earnings before tax of EUR 518 million in 2011 and had total assets of EUR 92 billion on December 31, 2011. OP-Pohjola Group has over four million customers.

Pohjola Finance is a leasing company offering a full range of leasing products to various legal entities in different sectors. It has strong position in industrial leasing, especially in the agricultural sector and is also actively operating in the other Baltic States and has operated in Latvia since 2008.

Seesam Insurance AS is a non-life insurance company operating in the Baltic States and its only shareholder is the non-life insurance company Pohjola Insurance Company Ltd – part of the financial services group OP-Pohjola.

Seesam Insurance AS has a staff of more than 350 employees who provide service in 32 customer service centers in the major cities of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.