The Association of Latvian Commercial Banks expands its activities and becomes the Finance Latvia Association

Reflecting the development of the finance industry and growing cooperation between participants in the sector, as well as the sustained creation of innovations in financial technology, the Association of Latvian Commercial Banks has expanded its activities and become the Finance Latvia Association.

The expansion of the Association and the change of its name are part of the organisation’s development strategy aimed at becoming a broad platform for cooperation in finance, technology and related industries, as well as for interest representation in Latvia, the Baltics and Europe. The Finance Latvia Association invites fintech start-ups, experienced finance companies and businesses in related industries to join the organisation by becoming associate members or members.

“These changes, stemming from global and local trends in the industry, are a logical step forward in the development of the association. We realised the need for changes as well as our ability to unite the industry and facilitate a high-quality discussion some time ago — for instance, in 2017 we ensured a united position among market participants about the future of the European Union’s financial market and the development of financial technologies. Questions are appearing more often on the association’s agenda for which we need collaboration between the financial and technology industries, as well as other related industries. Thus closer cooperation would allow for quicker decision-making in matters essential to the financial sector,” Sanda Liepiņa, the head of the Finance Latvia Association, has said in explaining the expansion decision. 

The Finance Latvia Association’s vision is for Latvia’s financial sector to become a model for Europe in terms of cooperation and innovation. The Finance Latvia Association expects Latvia to become one of the top EU countries shaping an open financial sector, and consequently it is essential to create a platform for cooperation between all the parties involved and to promote discussion on topical issues.

The association’s three priority directions for work remain the same — development, technology and compliance.

• Development — facilitating further development of the finance sector in Latvia, focusing on the accessibility of a range of innovative products with high added value that are competitive on the unified EU market.
• Technology — positioning Latvia as a leading EU country in open financial services, offering advanced digital services.
• Compliance — enabling the attainment of the highest standards of compliance.

The basic principles and values of the organisation in creating a unified platform and maintaining high-quality discussions on topical issues are openness, responsibility and cooperation. Every associate member or member has to prove their readiness to adhere to the Social Charter and Anti-Money Laundering/Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) initiatives. It is essential that the goals, interests and values of associate members or members coincide with the basic aims and principles of the Finance Latvia Association. Benefits of associate member or member can be found at home page.

By the end of the summer a new visual identity will be created for the Finance Latvia Association. 

About Finance Latvia Association

Finance Latvia Association is a public organization that represents Latvian financial industry at the national and international level. In the future members and associate members will include not only banks registered in Latvia and branches of foreign banks, but also fintech start-ups, experienced finance companies and businesses in related industries.

At the moment there are 28 members and associate members of Finance Latvia Association.

July 12, 2018 - the annual general meeting endorsed change of name from Association of Latvian Commercial Banks to Finance Latvia Association.