German bank branches out

VILNIUS - After testing the water by opening a representative office
in Vilnius last year, Norddeutsche Landesbank jumped in with both
feet by launching a branch in Lithuania's capital this month.

Norddeutsche Landesbank, or Nord/LB, is the first German bank to open
a branch office in Lithuania, joining a handful of other foreign
banks already in operation.

Established in 1970 through a merger of four banks, the
Hannover-based Nord/LB currently ranks 33rd in Europe and 60th in the
world by total assets. The bank claims a specialty in investment
banking, ship and aircraft financing, property financing as well as
corporate and investment consultancy.

At the fully-fledged branch's official opening on Nov. 12, some of
the Nord/LB's high-ranking officials fielded questions and explained
the bank's strategy. With the Vilnius branch now open and another
branch to launch in Sweden next month, Nord/LB is hoping to
strengthen its presence around the Baltic Sea.

"We are not forgetting about Western Europe," said Sven Herlyn,
executive vice president of Nord/LB, "but our main international
focus will be in the northeastern part of Europe."

The Vilnius branch will serve also Latvia and Estonia. The visiting
Germans said each Baltic state has its own particular economic and
financial situation and all are worth looking into more deeply.

But for now, the Nord/LB team contends that the Vilnius office should
suffice in serving the other two Baltics - practically just a hop
away from Vilnius.

"From here, we will be able to serve Latvia and Estonia from a
shorter distance than from Germany," said Herlyn.

But Nord/LB representatives said they are not aiming to blow other
established banks out of the market. In fact, one said the new branch
does not intend to be number one on interest rates because there is
no desire "to destroy the established order in the market."

Still, Nord/LB has certainly picked an interesting time to open a
branch. Lithuania is experiencing highly publicized financial woes
and rumors are already swirling that the litas could suddenly be
devalued. But if the German crew is worried about the situation, it
did not talk about it.

"We trust the wisdom of the central bank," Gunter Dunkel of Nord/LB's
management board said without further comment on current rumors
about devaluation.