Active work from the Bank of Latvia is needed to assess the unjustified restrictions on access to financial services, said President of Latvia Edgars Rinkēvičs during his meeting with Bank of Latvia governor Mārtiņš Kazāks.
As reported by the president’s advisor Mārtiņš Drēģeris, Rinkēvičs believes this applies to the opening of accounts, payments and issuance of loans. Latvia’s president invited the Bank of Latvia to work with other institutions in order to use all available instruments and compose appropriate regulations to ensure financial services become accessible, especially in Latvian regions, while also reducing obstacles for low-risk activities.
According to the president, considering geopolitical risks, Latvia cannot afford the banking sector to operate remotely or have services available only in some areas of Latvia. This slows small and medium-sized entrepreneurship in Latvian regions, because often it is not possible to resolve various business-related issues remotely if there are no bank branches available close by.
“The financial sector can help significantly boost Latvia’s competitiveness. I believe this can and must be solved with regulatory instruments, giving commercial banks specific settings, for example, by covering the network of regional branches of commercial banks throughout Latvia according to certain principles,” said the president after the meeting.
During the meeting at Riga Castle, participating officials discussed information about the possible impact a full ban on trade with Russia could potentially have on Latvia’s economy. Rinkēvičs invited the Bank of Latvia to support the industry with its analytics to assist with starting a business in new export markets.
Rinkēvičs and Kazāks also discussed discussed the provision of critical financial services in the event of a crisis. The two sides agreed that access to banking services should also be facilitated for the defence industry.
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President urges Bank of Latvia to assess unjustified restrictions on access to financial services
