Signet Bank has significantly increased its business volumes in the first six months of this year

In 1H 2022, Signet Bank continued to successfully implement its strategy, prioritizing its activities for servicing and financing local entrepreneurs and their businesses.

The most notable event for the bank in 1H 2022 was the completion of AS Expobank acquisition transaction. With this acquisition, the bank acquired infrastructure for further development, additional opportunities to grow its business, and further strengthened its position in the domestic market. This transaction was followed by successful merger of both banks on July 11, 2022, with the merged bank continuing to use the Signet Bank brand.

1H 2022 was marked by Russian aggression in Ukraine. This has shaken not only the habitual ideas that had been formed for decades about the factors that support the security of life and allow predicting the future, but also has become a test for the principles of Western democracy. We condemn the war unleashed by Russia, which undermines the foundations of the international order, and we stand with people of Ukraine in their fight for freedom.

In the first six months of 2022, the Group managed to substantially increase its business volumes, increasing the number of clients, volume of deposits and growing its loan portfolio. Compared to 1H 2021, the Group has achieved the following growth of key indicators: net interest income increased by 26%; net commission income increased by 59%; overall revenue increased by 27%. The reporting period ended with a profit of 2.9m EUR. Also, compared to the end of 2021, deposits increased by 21%; loan portfolio increased by 17%, while the overall client assets under management and administration (AUMA) was stable at 1 bln EUR. The Group has ensured a conservative risk profile – at the end of 1H 2022, the capital adequacy ratio was 16.16% (end of 2021: 15.73%), with a liquidity coverage ratio of 149% (end of 2021: 217%).

We remain committed to supporting local businesses with new financing solutions in the future. We see a clear opportunity to grow our corporate banking and investment banking businesses. Having access to our clients’ substantial capital, we are able not only to use bank resources to issue loans, but also, together with the funds of our clients, to arrange financial transactions in the form of bond issues. The Latvian capital market is still at an early stage of development, and we are actively working to ensure that the opportunities offered by it are available to ambitious and growth-oriented local companies.

About Signet Bank

Signet Bank was founded in 1991 and is one of the first banks of independent Latvia. The Bank’s strategy focuses on servicing local entrepreneurs and their businesses, with a particular emphasis on the quality of client capital services and structuring of investment projects. In 2021, Signet Bank provided clients with financing in the amount of EUR 200 million in the form of loans and bonds. Signet Bank’s shareholders are nine Latvian and international private investors: Signet Acquisition III (25%), where the only shareholder is the US investor Alexander Solovey; AS RIT Group (19.50%) – a Latvian company owned by investor Igor Rapoport, and SIA Reglink (15.93%), whose founder Irīna Pīgozne is a banking professional.