Bank deal details to remain secret

RIGA - Grigory Guselnikov, the largest shareholder and chairman of the board of directors at Russia’s Vyatka Bank and leading partner of the London-based G2 Capital Partners investment fund, has bought 50 percent plus one share in Latvia’s Norvik bank, becoming the bank’s largest shareholder and a strategic investor in the operation, reports Nozare.lv. Oliver Bramwell has been appointed the new CEO of the bank, Norvik bank says in a statement to the media.
Bramwell will take office at the beginning of 2014.

After the conclusion of the deal, Jurijs Sapurovs holds 18.4 percent of Norvik bank shares, and the remaining shareholders hold 31.6 percent shares.
The parties have agreed not to reveal information about the amount of or other conditions of the deal.
The deal has been approved by the Financial and Capital Market Commission.

According to Norvik bank, Guselnikov is a finance and investment leader, who has worked in the banking industry since 1996. Currently Guselnikov resides in London and is the leading partner and majority shareholder of G2 Capital Partners.
Since 2007 Guselnikov is also the majority shareholder and chairman of the board of directors of Vyatka Bank in Russia. Guselnikov holds a master’s degree in economics and says he has extended his knowledge in business and financial management in several education establishments in the United States.

Bramwell has extensive experience in the banking sector, financial and credit risk management and retail lending. He has held management level positions in several banks in the United Kingdom and in Russia, including Barclays Bank and Citibank. Before joining Norvik bank’s team, Bramwell was the managing director of Vyatka Bank. His duties included risk management, strategic IT project management and the development of new financial products.
Bramwell has a master’s degree in mathematics from the University of Warwick. In 2012 he qualified as a chartered financial analyst, a highly valued certification in international financial industry.

Norvik bank will inform the public about its further development strategy and plans at a press conference on Jan. 10. Norvik bank was established in 1992, and is one of the oldest credit institutions in Latvia. The bank has 80 offices in 17 cities and towns of Latvia.

According to the Association of Latvian Commercial Banks’ data, Norvik bank was the ninth largest bank in Latvia in terms of assets at the end of third quarter last year. The bank’s assets were 589.6 million lats (842.2 million euros) at the end of September. The bank’s deposit portfolio were 506.9 million lats and loan portfolio 179.3 million lats.
Norvik bank’s capital adequacy ratio at the end of September was 8.79 percent, return on equity 0.63 percent, and return on assets 0.04 percent.