Bank of Lithuania
2019-06-26
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Following the assessment and proposal of the Bank of Lithuania, UAB General Financing has been granted a specialised bank licence by the European Central Bank. This is the fourth company to receive a specialised bank licence.

Having secured a specialised bank licence, the company intends to offer banking services: it will accept resident deposits, provide consumer credits and leasing services. 

UAB General Financing, established in 2005, is a part of Esco Marginalen AB, a group of companies established in Sweden. The group provides various financial services in Sweden, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Until now, in Lithuania, UAB General Financing has been providing consumer credit and leasing services.

Specialised bank licences were previously granted to the country’s largest credit union Mano unija, which established AB Mano bankas, Revolut Technologies UAB, a global FinTech company providing payment and other services, and European Merchant Bank UAB. Together with the European Central Bank, the Bank of Lithuania is currently assessing four more applications: three of them – for a specialised bank licence, one – for a bank licence.

Specialised banks, also associated with further development of financial technologies (FinTech), will contribute to reducing banking services market concentration, which is one of the largest in Europe, boost competition, bring benefits to consumers and increase the attractiveness and availability of 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 lasts for roughly a year.