2020-11-30
Following the assessment and proposal of the Bank of Lithuania, the European Central Bank (ECB) granted Crius LT, UAB a specialised bank licence.
The investor behind Crius LT, UAB is Igor Rintel, an entrepreneur from Slovakia. Mr Rintel also controls Trust Pay, a.s. – a licensed payment institution specialising in e-commerce payments.
Having secured the licence, Crius LT, UAB is expected to start its activities as a payment-focused bank and offer financial services to its business customers: small and medium-sized enterprises, e commerce firms and other financial institutions.
Currently, there are five specialised banks carrying out their activities in Lithuania: AB Mano bankas, Revolut Bank UAB, UAB GF bankas, AB Fjord Bank and European Merchant Bank UAB. They focus on acceptance of deposits and provision of loans.
Together with the ECB, the Bank of Lithuania is currently assessing six more applications for a specialised bank licence. Contributing to further fintech development, specialised banks help boost competition as well as attractiveness and accessibility of banking services. The main difference between a specialised and a full-range bank is that the former is not authorised to provide investment services. The opportunity to establish a specialised bank was introduced in 2017. The authorisation process usually lasts for roughly a year.