“Šodien valdība nolēma pārņemt «Parex bankas» akciju kontrolpaketi 51% apmērā.”

http://www.diena.lv/lat/politics/politika/valsts-parnems-parex-bankas-akciju-kontrolpaketi

Two lats for a bank and the taxpayer bails them out.
I wonder if Valery still has his Maybach?
Kargin’s wife has the big bucks.
You know, Parex bank has been looking
for strategic investor since 1995….....................................

Zinšamama et al.,

I wonder now about the Kargins citatel Bulduros, Jūrmalā.

Visu labu,

“Šodien valdība nolēma pārņemt «Parex bankas» akciju kontrolpaketi 51% apmērā.”

Sounds like we need 1934 all over again

Mr. L. L.

Kargin is divorced. We never need 1934 again.

Just tried to use my debit card at our neighborhood Elvi to pay for groceries - not possible as their accounts are with Parex Bank and “the system is experiencing difficulties”.  Indeed it is.  400,000 other retail establishments (that have accounts with Parex) are likely in the same predicament.  Cash is king?
V.

From Latviansonline:

Government takes over No. 2 Parex Banka

Andris Straumanis

November 09, 2008

The Latvian government has taken over the country’s second-largest bank in a move it says is meant to protect taxpayers and bank customers.

Prime Minister Ivars Godmanis on Nov. 8 announced the government’s decision to take a 51 percent share in Parex Banka, according to media reports. The bank has more than 400,000 retail customers.

Finance Minister Atis Slakteris told journalists that in taking the decision, the government acted in the interest of taxpayers and bank clients. Parex, according to media reports, has experienced a recent drop in assets and could have faced bankruptcy.

“This responsible step is a signal that points to the government’s ability to act and decisiveness,” he said in a statement to the press. “The bank sector is especially important to the country, because it forms the lifeblood of the nation’s economy.”

The decision comes after weeks of speculation and warnings about a looming economic crisis in Latvia. The leading financial ratings services, most recently Moody’s Investors Service, have all cut their outlooks for Latvia.

“The global liquidity crisis will probably cause a shock to the Latvian banking system, which will reverberate throughout the rest of the economy,” Moody’s Senior Analyst Kenneth Orchard said Nov. 7 after the service downgraded Latvia’s currency rating. However, Moody’s noted that the presence of several large Nordic banks should offer stability to the Latvian market.

The Latvian government’s share in Parex will be controlled by the state-owned Hipotēku un zemes banka (Mortgage and Land Bank of Latvia).

Just weeks ago Parex reported a LVL 12.4 million profit for the third quarter of this year. With assets standing at LVL 3.14 billion at the close of third quarter, Parex is Latvia’s second-largest financial institution, according to the Latvian Commercial Bank Association. No. 1 is Swedbank, with LVL 5.12 billion in assets, while No. 3 is SEB Bank with LVL 2.99 billion. Hipotēku un zemes banka is ranked No. 8 with about LVL 959 million in assets.

Parex was established in 1992 and has been controlled by Valery Kargin and Vladimir Krasovitsky. It has offices and affiliates in 14 countries.

Andris Straumanis is editor of Latvians Online.

Are you sure it’s not just an ordinary system failure? In my experience they’re not that rare (at Swedbank and SEB also), esp. on weekends and holidays.

Since they’re making an all-out effort to instil confidence in the bank (like we really look to Māris Olte for financial advice), it’d be odd if they seeded a panic…

Cerēdams,
/P

Oh it could very well be just a typical system snafu.  I don’t think a panic seeding is happening, the news (at least radio today) was full of “experts” urging everyone not to panic & reminding that up to 50K, their savings are ensured…Seems that some with more than that may have had a heads up.

Oh, and at least one member of our household (age 7) does indeed look to Māris Olte for advice - if not financial, then at least his messages about conserving energy, reducing waste, etc.  :-)  Not to mention the top-notch 5th grader game show that he hosts…

Observe that Latvian language service is available in Switzerland! Do we own this now, too? I hope that means we can scan those account records…

Ar smaidu,
/P

Hold on folks,
Don’t panic, don’t panic,
Our chief banking adviser PC says:

<Are you sure it’s not just an ordinary system failure? >
  He has a multitude of….
< In my experience they’re not…>
Just give him few moments to have looked up the statistics and he will give you the best advice of how to multiply your money.

No problem.

All I can tell you is that my account at Parex is accessible and fully operational—rather than hunting for those damnable statistics Felikss so despises, I went for the raw experience in which he places his faith. Frankly, I navigate the financial waters by smell. I did nearly double my money at Banka Baltija and withdraw all of it only days before it collapsed, though…

Vysu lobu,
/P

If my memory has not failed me, Parex bank was one of the banks that refused the US request to terminate large foreign personal accounts . The sanctions for such refusal was the limitation on access to US banks. Could this have been a factor in the “systems failure”? Were not the correspondant banks for Parex located “East”? Just curious! Maybe Ojars can shed some light on the issue.

The system failure is not too unusual. Several months ago, customers, including myself, couldn’t pay with debit cards at several retailers who use Hansabanka system. Diena will have a full interview with a co-founder of the bank in tomorrow’s newspaper. For now they published a sneak peak. http://www.diena.lv/lat/business/biznesazinas/kargins-un-krasovickis-banku-vel-cer-izpirkt

Thanks, Aleksej for that link. 

P. Raudseps had an article in today’s Diena that also helped me to understand this situation a bit better. 

http://www.diena.lv/lat/politics/dienas_komentari/nedrikst-raustities

V.