Nordic and Baltic regional awards
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Best Bank: DnB Nord |
SEB Vilniaus is the market leader in terms of size but second-placed DnB Nord is growing twice as fast – its assets grew 47.14% in the year to the end of March 2007. Moreover, DnB Nord is growing profitably: its return on equity of 13.86% compares favourably with SEB Vilniaus’s 11.87%. DnB Nord had a market share of loans of 15.3% at the end of 2006 but, crucially, the bank has set about reforming itself to ensure it wins the right sort of business in Lithuania’s booming economy. DnB Nord claims to have become the most flexible decision-maker in Lithuania’s large corporate loan market and the fastest bank on the country’s consumer loan market following its implementation of an advanced electronic decision support system. Competition in Lithuania is growing – Bankas Snoras warrants special mention for its rapid and profitable growth – and DnB Nord will have to keep on looking for new opportunities and ways to reduce costs if it is to maintain its current ranking. Best equity
By international standards, equity capital markets activity in Lithuania was negligible in the year to the end of March 2007 but SEB Vilniaus deserves praise for its strong positioning in the equity market more generally.