Latvian banks raise aggregate profit 26.5 pct in 2014

Latvian banks made 311.407 million euros (about 355 million U.S. dollars) in aggregate profit in 2014, which was a 26.5 percent increase from a year before, the Latvian banking regulator said citing preliminary data.

According to the regulator's information, 13 Latvian banks and three branches of foreign banks operating in Latvia closed last year in the black, with their annual profit totalling 339.7 million euros.

The structure of the Latvian banks' income and expenditure stabilized last year and the profit growth in 2014 was mainly achieved thanks to reduced expenses (provisions on unsafe loans shrank 40.3 percent and administrative costs dropped 6.8 percent), as well as high net commissions income, which grew 8.3 percent, the regulator said.

The Latvian banking sector's aggregate assets grew 5.6 percent last year to 30.815 billion euros at the end of 2014.

Bank deposits totalled 22.192 billion euros at the end of last year, rising 13.8 percent from the end of 2013.

After a steep rise in 2013, resident bank deposits continued to grow also in 2014, with their total value reaching 10.8 billion euros at the end of the year.

The balance of non-resident deposits in Latvian banks expanded by 2.2 billion euros to 11.5 billion euros, mainly thanks to a rise of the U.S. dollar, the banking regulator said.

The Latvian banks' aggregate loan portfolio contracted 6.1 percent from the end of 2013 to 14.666 billion euros in late 2014.

The Latvian banking sector posted 246.201 million euros in aggregate profit for 2013.

There are 26 banks operating in Latvia, including nine branches of foreign banks. Endit