RIGA - GE Money, a personal finance service provider, has said that it would begin banking operations in Latvia in the near future, most likely under the name GE Money Bank, a spokeswoman said.
In Nov. 2006, GE Money acquired a 98 percent stake in Baltic Trust Bank, a middle-tier bank in Latvia's financial system.
Jan Hainz, the company's communication director in Central and Eastern Europe, was quoted as saying that the company was interested in developing in Latvia despite the untenable economic situation. He said GE Money, one of six main divisions of U.S.-based General Electric, saw a potential for developing banking services in particular.
Hainz said that the company wants to obtain experience in Latvia's banking sector and use it to expand to other countries in the region, such as Estonia and Lithuania.
Hans Enocson, GE's Nordic and Baltic regional manager, said the company has been operating in Latvia for four years and was gearing up to enter the banking sector.
"We are satisfied with the achieved results. We are positive about the future of this business," he told the Dienas Bizness daily, adding that the company was considering investments in energy and medicine.
"The energy issue in Latvia is an important issue and General Electric is active in the energy sector," said Enocson, who said he has discussed the company's plans with Prime Minister Ivars Godmanis.
"We are interested in Latvia in various aspects. We can supply gas turbines with 80-90 percent energy efficiency…We are among the world's leaders in energy and are taking an active part in replacing Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant in Lithuania," said Enocson.
Health care equipment is also a specialty business for GE, he added. There are about 8,500 General Electric employees in the region with about 4,500 people employed in medicine as the concern has large medical equipment plants in Finland, Norway and Sweden, Enocson said.
"We are interested in supplies, but if we open a plant we should understand why we are doing it. If there is a reason for that, we will be interested to do it as we are constantly looking for development opportunities," he said.
GE Money, headquartered in London, operates in 55 countries worldwide and has over 130 million clients.
GE Money launched operations in Latvia in May 2004 by purchasing RD Lizinga Grupa, a leasing firm.
