“I never believed that our state-owned business, when it operates in a competitive environment, could be efficient. Because one thing that many people don’t understand is that the state bank will have to operate under exactly the same conditions as the private banks. Because we are part of the euro system, this is licensing, capital matters and the like,” A. Romanovskis explained to “Zinių radio” on Monday.
According to him, if a state bank existed and offered lower service prices, it would require constant support from the state, which would raise questions about patronage. And such support, according to the head of LVK, would come from the budget, which is collected through taxes.
“There will be constant support from the state and there may be many questions related to nepotism, patronage and many challenges.” And then the question is whether we will pay as taxpayers on the other side,” he asserted
“As an organization, we have always been against business and state competition,” he emphasized.
On Saturday, in the council of the Lithuanian Social Democratic Party (LSDP), faction leader Rasa Budbergytė said that a state bank must be created in Lithuania. According to her, such a decision would improve the competitive environment, since 18 banks operating in the country do not compete.
She noted that banks are raising rates and reducing the availability of services, and the development of a state-owned bank would allow businesses to gain better access.
E LTA reminds that there are currently 18 participants operating in the Lithuanian banking sector: 13 have bank licenses, another 5 operate as branches of foreign banks. The majority of the market is held by Swedbank, SEB and Luminor.
