"When it comes to managing portfolios, Finasta holds around 50% of the market share in Lithuania," says Andrius Barštys, chief executive and chairman. "There is quite tough competition in the Baltics in private banking, especially among the Scandinavian banks, but their major weakness is the lack of attention to personal client needs," he says.
Indeed, Barštys claims that global banks in the region are not adjusted to the local market: "The investment products [global] private bankers propose have their origins in Scandinavia and do not always fit in with the investment strategy clients in Lithuania are ready for," he says.
"Finasta has access to the richest Lithuanians and we adapt: we were not known for our conservative investments before 2008, but as investor sentiment grew cautious, we adapted our model to fit our clients’ needs."
"Finasta Asset Management has acquired four local companies to become what it is today; the brokerage company section of Finasta has made six acquisitions in its lifetime.
"The small size of our branch network is the major lack of Finasta’s private banking service," Barštys says.