Signet Bank becomes Nasdaq Baltic leader in 2023 in bond trading volume in the Baltics

Signet Bank has taken the lead in bond trading activity across the Baltic region in 2023, as reported by Nasdaq Baltic. Including both the Baltic Regulated Market and Nasdaq First North, Signet Bank’s clients traded EUR 64 million, constituting 25% of all bond transactions on the Exchange.

“Signet Bank’s trading activity on the Exchange goes hand in hand with the Bank’s success in the capital market segment, organising bond issues and promoting bonds as a quality investment instrument for adequate income. This is a significant moment for Signet Bank, as the leading position in the Exchange’s bond trading has been obtained for the first time in the bank’s history and strengthens our position as the leading investment bank in the Baltics”, comments Roberts Idelsons, Chairman of the Board of Signet Bank.

In 2023, both the Baltic Regulated Market and the Nasdaq First North market showed a significant increase in terms of bond turnover compared to the previous year 2022, when the turnover of the exchange members experienced a significant drop – the Baltic Regulated Market turnover in 2023 reached EUR 224 million (+224% y/y), returning to the 2021 level, while the Nasdaq First North exchange member turnover tripled during the year and reached EUR 37 million (+209% y/y).

Although the Baltic Regulated Market’s bond turnover has increased significantly compared to the previous year, it is still slightly below the 2020 turnover. Nasdaq First North bonds, on the other hand, saw an all-time high in trading activity, with a significant increase in activity.

“The increasing activity in the Baltic bond market reflects positive trends in investment culture and capital market development, as well as improving financial literacy. To reinforce this positive trend, we need to continue our educational work on capital market instruments and opportunities. That is why in 2023 Signet Bank launched a long-term educational public project – the first “Capital Market Academy” in Latvia, with the aim to provide companies not only with knowledge, but also with support to use capital market financial instruments effectively in order to “unlock” the capital market potential and promote sustainable business growth in Latvia,” comments R. Idelsons.

About Signet Bank

Signet Bank was founded in 1991 and is one of Latvia’s first independent banks. The bank’s strategy focuses on providing financing and capital management services to local entrepreneurs and their businesses. Since the start of 2021, Signet Bank has provided customers with almost EUR 500 million of financing in the form of loans and bonds. Signet Bank’s shareholders are nine Latvian and international private investors, of whom the biggest is Signet Acquisition III (25%), whose sole shareholder is US investor Aleksandrs Solovejs; AS RIT Group (19.50 %), a Latvian company owned by the Rapoport family, and SIA Reglink (15.93 %), founded by banker Irīna Pīgozne.