On 5 April, President Edgars Rinkēvičs held a meeting with Governor of the Bank of Latvia Mārtiņš Kazāks, Deputy Governor Santa Purgaile, Member of the Council Kristīne Černaja-Mežmale and Head of the General Secretariat Andris Strazds at the Riga Castle. During the meeting, the parties discussed the availability of banking services, the provision of critical financial services in the event of a crisis, and the access to financing in the defence industry.
The President of Latvia called on the Bank of Latvia to proactively evaluate unjustified restrictions on access to financial services, such as opening accounts, making payments, and providing financing. E. Rinkēvičs invited the Bank of Latvia to cooperate with other relevant stakeholders in making use of all available instruments to create a sound framework for regulating access to financial services, especially in the regions of Latvia, while reducing barriers for low-risk activities.
"Considering the present geopolitical risks, it is critical that our banking sector does not operate remotely or restrict services to only a few locations in Latvia. The absence of local bank branches in Latvia's regions can pose a challenge for small and medium-sized businesses, as it is often difficult to resolve various business financing issues remotely. The financial sector has a key role to play in raising Latvia's competitiveness. Therefore, I believe this issue can and should be addressed through regulatory instruments, for example, by setting specific benchmarks for commercial banks concerning requisite regional coverage of branches across the country," said President of Latvia E. Rinkēvičs.
During the meeting, the Bank of Latvia provided a briefing on the potential impact of a complete severance of trade with Russia upon the Latvian economy. E. Rinkēvičs invited the Bank of Latvia to provide analytical support to industry stakeholders, thereby promoting their entry into new export markets.
E. Rinkēvičs and M. Kazāks also discussed the critical provision of financial services in the event of a crisis. In addition, they agreed that further efforts must be undertaken to promote the availability of banking services to the defence industry.
