| Headline: Baltics Source: Euromoney Date: July 2000 Author: Simon Brady Baltics Best Foreign Bank: Hansabank Best Foreign Securities Firm: Tallinvest Suprema As is the case in many of the rest of the emerging markets, domestic institutions are finding it hard to remain independent in their own back yards, let alone manage to establish strong regional operations. Sweden's Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken (SEB) owns 50.5% of Latvijas Unibanka in Latvia, 42% of Vilniaus Banka in Lithuania and 50.15% of Eesti Uhispank in Estonia. Swedbank owns a majority stake in Hansabank. Finnish and German institutions are also eyeing these territories. No domestic bank without foreign strategic shareholders can claim to be a regional power. Hansabank based in Estonia, is by far the biggest and most successful bank in the Baltic region, having spread its operations to Latvia and Lithuania. Founded in 1991, it now has around one million retail customers and 60,000 corporate accounts. Some 68% of all payments and 87% of all transactions are made through the internet, telebanking or other remote channels. The bank's return on assets, at 3.8% last year, is unparalleled in any low-inflation emerging market, and the return on average equity last year was 25.5%. Its cost/income ratio was below 50% last year and was 46.2% |