Some time ago, LB board member Simonas Krėpšta said that Lithuania could see the arrival of new banks this year.
One of the largest Polish banks, “Pekao”, which is considering establishing a branch in Lithuania, has been widely discussed. It was said that the Taiwanese were also interested in establishing a new bank, but so far no action has been taken.
LB does not reveal who exactly could appear as new players, but agrees that the arrival of any player would have an impact on the sector.
“Each new market entrant can have a positive impact on competition in the banking sector, especially in certain segments of financial services, such as the credit market. That is why we aim to attract new participants to Lithuania, this task is for 2022. for the established Financial Market Development Center.
As for specific market participants and their arrival – we would like to refrain from commenting and wait until such players exist. Efforts are being made to attract banks of various sizes, of course, the arrival of a larger bank would have a greater effect on the competitive environment in the banking sector,” said Lukas Jakubonis, Head of Financial Market Development of the Bank of Lithuania.
He asserted that, in general, practice shows that new market participants can successfully “heat up” the competition, and consumers win from this. Such a phenomenon, according to him, is especially visible in the competitive market of consumer loans or when competing for residents’ deposits.
“We also see positive signs in the housing loan market. Partly due to the activity of medium-sized banks, housing margins from 2020 decreased by a third, so we encourage consumers to look for opportunities to negotiate their home loan margin with the bank or to look for opportunities to refinance the loan at another credit institution,” said the LB representative.
Although some banks have recently announced that they are increasing the prices for services, in LB’s opinion, residents and companies have a wide enough choice, as services are provided by banks, credit unions, and electronic money and payment institutions.
“We remind you that the Bank of Lithuania publishes the rates of payment baskets of financial market participants and their comparisons, so residents can choose the most suitable options for them at a reasonable price.
As for investment services, more and more licenses are issued to financial technology companies that offer investment services at a particularly low price or for free at all,” said L. Jakubonis.
However, S. Krėpšta himself recently reacted to the increased rates by the banks. According to him, such behavior is socially irresponsible.
“Increasing certain rates in this context, when banks’ profitability is really high, one of the highest in the European Union, naturally raises questions for the public, and raises questions for us as well.”
Raising certain rates in this context, when banks’ profitability is really high, one of the highest in the European Union, naturally raises questions for the public and raises questions for us as well.
It can be stated that such actions show the banks’ lack of social responsibility and the question is clear whether we, as a supervisory institution, are doing something and can do it,” said S. Krėpšta to LRT television.
Delphi reminds that two banks – SEB and Luminor – announced that they were increasing the rates for services.
The latter bank said that it is increasing the limit of free withdrawals from EUR 600 to EUR 750, but a new 0.5 percent will be applied to those who exceed the limit. fee and the cash withdrawal fee from Perlas terminals will be changed to 0.5 percent of the withdrawn amount.
The bank also increases the fee for an additional Visa Debit card to 1.20 euros per month for adults aged 18 and over.
As for SEB, depending on the plan, SEB customers will be able to withdraw from 550 to 2 thousand for free. euros per month. The withdrawal rate for customers without a payment plan has increased from 0.8 to 2 percent since April 9. withdrawal amounts.
