1. The Board decided to grant permission to Norddeutsche Landesbank Girozentrale (NORD/LB) to acquire and manage over 2/3 of shares in the Lithuanian Agricultural Bank (LZUB).
The share capital of the LZUB is LTL 102 839 115. The agreement between the Lithuanian State Property Fund and NORD/LB on the sale of the 76.01 per cent of state-owned shares in the LZUB was concluded on 18 February 2002.
2. The Board decided to reduce commercial bank reserve requirements from 8 to 6 per cent.
The 2 percent reduction will lower commercial bank minimum reserves by LTL 260 million.
The Board also established that as of 24 November 2002 the reserve requirement base will be expanded to include liabilities with initial maturity of over 2 years (now 1 year).
Other changes related to reserve requirements were made:
the reserve requirement calculation date and maintenance period were aligned with the current practices in the Euro system, regulations on reserve requirements to banks in reorganisation were introduced, etc.
The above decisions took into account the stable economic and banking situation and were also aimed at gradually aligning the reserve requirements with the requirements of the European Central Bank.
3. The Board decided to grant permission to AB Vilniaus Bank to acquire and manage over 2/3 (up to 100 per cent) of shares in the newly established company VB Mortgage and Bond Bank.
VB Mortgage and Bond Bank will be a subsidiary to specialise in housing crediting services. Vilniaus Bank has allocated LTL 20 million for the share capital of this bank.
4. The Board introduced partial amendments to the Rules of Consolidation of Financial Accounts and Consolidated Supervision.
The amendments require commercial banks to provide information on their investments into the shares of other companies below 10 per cent.
The decision took into account the recommendations of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund presented after the completion of the Financial Sector Assessment Programme (FSAP) in Lithuania.
5. The Board resolved not to issue the 10 litas commemorative coin featuring Klaipėda (series “Lithuanian Cities”) into circulation as of 27 March 2002 as the produced specimen did not fully meet technical requirements.
6. The Board resolved to approve the results of the design competition for the 50 litas commemorative coin marking Trakai Island Castle (series “Monuments of Lithuanian History and Architecture”). The design by Vladas Polikša was nominated as the winner. The designs by Giedrius Paulauskas and Gediminas Karalius were nominated as second and third. The coin will be issued in the third quarter of 2002.