Банки, Книга, Латвия, Финансы

The presentation took place in the former office of Parex banka's ex-president Valerijs Kargins at the bank's former head offices at 3 Smilsu Street, reports LETA.

The book looks into the nationalization of the bank and why the nationalization was necessary, as well as analyzes who were guilty of the bank's problems. Lapsa concludes that the bank was doomed to collapse, and "the insane actions by the heads of the bank only accelerated the process".

Lapsa has concluded that it was clear in the summer of 2008 already that the bank would fail, because Parex banka tried to stay in line with the lending policies of the Scandinavian banks in Latvia, which it could not sustain.

In Lapsa's opinion, the bank's former owners, Kargins and Viktors Krasovickis, might have to be held responsible for fraudulent accounting practices. The Financial and Capital Market Commission's heads were also "unnaturally obliging" toward the bank's former owners.

Lapsa also criticizes Latvia's officials who were in charge of the bank takeover process. Although they tried to rescue the country's financial system as best as they could, they were uninterested in "minor details", such as a few millions that were withdrawn from the bank by its former owners.