2014-03-28
The Bank of Lithuania will transfer LTL 20.6 million to the state budget
The Board of the Bank of Lithuania approved the 2013 Bank of Lithuania’s financial statements and decided to transfer all of the Bank of Lithuania’s profit from 2013 — LTL 20,643,310 — to the state budget.
The Bank of Lithuania’s financial statements for 2013 are made up of the 31 December 2013 balance sheet and profit and loss account for the year ending, summary of important accounting principles and other explanatory information.
In the Bank of Lithuania’s 31 December 2013 balance sheet, all assets amounted to LTL 21.2 billion (in 2012 — LTL 22.87 billion), while the profit for 2013 was LTL 20.6 million (in 2012 — LTL 20.67 million).
In the Law of the Bank of Lithuania it is provided that the Bank of Lithuania’s profit contribution to the state budget should not exceed a sum equal to 70 per cent of the calculated average of the profit and loss account for the Bank of Lithuania at year ending of the last three years. In 2011 profit amounted to LTL 128.04 million, in 2012 — LTL 20.67 million. Respectively, 70 per cent of the three year profit average amounts to LTL 39.51 million. With the actual profit in 2013 being smaller, it was decided to transfer it to the budget.
The independent auditors UAB Deloitte Lietuva, in their report presented to the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania, indicated that the financial statements in all respects correctly reflect the Bank of Lithuania’s 31 December 2013 financial status and the year ending financial performance in accordance to the Bank of Lithuania’s accounting principles.
Guidelines on Cash Changeover will help smoothly exchange cash litas into euro
In preparation for the adoption of the euro in our country, the Board of the Bank of Lithuania approved the Guidelines on Cash Changeover that specify the members of the cash changeover process during euro adoption and their functions, the principles of acquisition of euro, euro and litas handling as well as other cash changeover related principles. The key participants in this process are the Bank of Lithuania, banks and the Lithuanian Post. Cash-in-transit and cash handling companies, distribution businesses and services providing businesses will also participate.
The Bank of Lithuanian will have to acquire 132 million units of euro banknotes and 370 million units of euro and euro cent coins to satisfy the demand for them at the time of euro adoption and to ensure their necessary stocks.
The Bank of Lithuania is going to borrow the amount of euro banknotes necessary for our state to adopt the euro from some national central bank within the Eurosystem. In the future, it would repay the debt by ordering and printing the euro amount borrowed in some banknotes and security documents printing works accredited by the European Central Bank (ECB) and having the right to print euro banknotes. The Guidelines provide that the Bank of Lithuania, upon coordination with the ECB, which of the euro area NCBs will supply euro banknotes, will, no later than before 31 July 2014, sign an agreement with this bank on the borrowing of euro banknotes. It is projected to repay the debt in banknotes for the euro banknotes borrowed in 2016.
The euro and euro coins coins needed by Lithuania will be minted at by the Lithuanian Mint. It will also produce euro coin sets for the public and two types of euro coin sets for retailers. The Bank of Lithuania is projecting, no later than by 30 June 2014, to sign an agreement with the Lithuanian Mint on the minting of euro coins and production of euro coin sets. The Lithuanian Mint is ready to mint Lithuanian euro and euro cent coins. The minting of euro coins will only begin once the EU Council takes a decision on euro adoption in Lithuania.
It is planned to produce 900 thousand euro coin sets for the public (with their value EUR 11.59), 60 thousand euro coin sets for retailers (with the value of variant 1 of EUR 111.00) and 50 thousand euro coin sets for retailers (with the value of variant II of EUR 200.00). The Bank of Lithuania and banks will begin selling the euro coin sets for the public on 1 December 2014, and the Lithuanian Post — 4 December 2014.
The Bank of Lithuania will prepare its vaults for the safekeeping of euro. It is believed that the available vault area will be sufficient for the safekeeping.
The Guidelines on Cash Changeover will be published on the website of the Bank of Lithuania.
The licence of the payment institution UAB Perlo paslaugos was updated
The Board of the Bank of Lithuania made the decision to update the licence of the payment institution UAB Perlo paslaugos with the payment services provided in Items 2 and 5 of Article 5 of the Law on Payments (services which provide conditions for cash withdrawals from a payment account and all operations related to management of payment accounts; issuing and/or acceptance of payment instruments).
The company informed that having received the updated licence they plan to expand the spectrum of the services that they provide and issue customers (fund transferees) payment instruments — Pearl cards, which will be used to pay cash and will provide customers with the opportunity to receive the funds (cash) paid by the service provider through lottery terminals.