Banks, Crisis, Financial Services, Latvia, Markets and Companies

Valdis Dombrovskis.

"There is only one company which we are actively selling, and that is Parex", said Dombrovskis. "We are continuing to work on the division of the bank, and we have reached a technical agreement with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development on participation in the new bank. Following the division, we will move forward to the sale. This could be done by auction. There is also a possibility that we will speak with the interested parties about sale of the bank with certain acceptable conditions."

Dombrovskis also admits that recovery of the resources invested in Parex banka is dependent on how quickly and with what conditions the sale of the bank's old shares goes ahead. "The longer we keep the bank, the more chance there is of recovering those resources as the economic situation improves," said the prime minister.

According to unofficial information in LETA's possession, the government's new agreement with the international lenders may include a requirement to produce a list by the end of the year containing information on which state-owned companies could be retained by the state, and which could be privatized.

Dombrovskis indicated that the document mentions that "we must gather information on state-owned companies, and we must evaluate which of these should continue to operate in the current manner and which should continue their operations differently".

However, the prime minister stressed that privatization was neither a demand by the international lenders, nor a recommendation. "And there is no list of companies for privatization. Such demands would not be supported at least by my government," claimed Dombrovskis.