Signet Bank is mulling acquiring a decisive influence over LPB Bank, according to information published by the Latvian Competition Council, LETA, a Latvian newswire, reported on December 6.

The Competition Council informs that it has received a merger report from Signet Bank on the acquisition of decisive influence over LPB Bank.

Thus the activities of Signet Bank and LPB Bank overlap in the Latvian banking market.

The Bank of Latvia has so far not commented to LETA on the merger.

The Financial and Capital Market Commission (FCMC), which has been merged into the Bank of Latvia from this year, on July 7, 2022, approved the merger of Signet Bank and Expobank. The merger of the two banks was implemented by transferring to Expobank Signet Bank's credit institution business – all Signet Bank's assets and liabilities, contracts with customers and counterparties and Signet Bank's interests in other companies. Thus, on July 12, 2022, Signet Bank changed its name to SB Resolution and Expobank became Signet Bank.

In the first nine months of 2023, Signet Bank posted a profit of €4.319mn, while the banking group posted a profit of €3.794mn. Signet Bank had assets of €385.373mn as at September 30, 2023, down 2.3% from €394.307mn at the end of 2022.

Signet Bank's shareholders are nine Latvian and international private investors.

LPB Bank made a profit of €789,000 in the first nine months of this year, which is 3.9 times less than in the corresponding period of 2022. At the end of September 2023, the bank's assets amounted to €168.906mn, which is 2.4% more than at the end of 2022, when LPB Bank's assets amounted to €164.994mn.

LPB Bank is solely owned by Mono. 

LPB Bank was the smallest bank in Latvia by assets at the end of 2022, according to information published by the Bank of Latvia, LETA said.