SEB president to visit Vilnius

VILNIUS (BNS) - President and Executive Director Lars Thunel of Scandinavisca Enskilda Banken, Sweden's second largest bank, will visit Lithuania on January 12.

At the end of 1998, SEB acquired 32 percent of shares in Vilniaus Bankas and became the Lithuanian top private bank's strategic investor.

SEB's investment into Vilniaus Bankas is the second biggest western investment in Lithuania. The director of Vilniaus Bankas' Financial Institutions Department, Audrius Ziugzda, told BNS that Thunel, who has never been to Lithuania, wanted to meet the country's leaders and to visit Vilniaus Bankas during his one-day stay here.

Ziugzda said there were no plans to discuss a further strategy for Vilniaus Bankas during Thunel's visit. The strategy issues should be discussed by the bank's new council, but it is still unclear when it will convene its first meeting, he said, adding that a date for the meeting could be set during Thunel's visit.