In 2010, the bank recorded LTL 122.6 million net loss as its pre-tax profit before provisions was LTL 140.5 million.

 "The bank met the targets set for 2011 – we successfully completed integration into Norway's largest financial services group, consolidated our position in Lithuania’s retail and corporate banking market, and after two years break operated profitably. Increasing operating efficiency, proper management of the quality of the loan portfolio as well as active and consistent efforts to deliver high quality financial services that correspond to customer needs were the main driving factors behind the financial result achieved. That gives us strong foothold going forward. Although we anticipate that the country’s slower economic growth this year is likely to reflect on the operating environment, we feel quite positive about 2012 and intend to continue concentrating on further development of our customer centric business model,"  Bjornar Lund, the president and the chairman of the management board of AB DNB Bankas, said.

In 2011 AB DNB Bankas' income grew due to the continuous focus on operating efficiency and its efforts to optimise operations as the bank’s operating costs went down. The bank's operating costs went down 5.1 percent year-on-year down to LTL 176.5 million and its income rose 2.2 percent to LTL 333.7 million. In line with the increased operating efficiency, the bank's cost to income ratio (CIR) improved to 52.9 percent in the year 2011.

As a result of continuous focus on service quality and consistent efforts to increase the number of customers who choose DNB as their home bank and actively use various services of the group, the number of individual and corporate customers in the bank rose by 60.4 thousand in 2011. This was one of the important factors of the bank’s income growth from its core business. As of the end of December, the bank was providing comprehensive range of financial services to 716 thousand individual and corporate customers.

With an increasing number of customers and growing funds on their bank accounts, the deposit portfolio of AB DNB Bankas rose 18.7 percent year-on-year to LTL 5.15 billion.

In 2011, AB DNB Bankas signed new loan agreements worth LTL 1.6 billion and at the end of December its net loan portfolio stood at LTL 8.9 billion. At the year end the faster growth of the newly granted loans was slowed down as some of the corporate customers took more cautious approach weighing the possible impact of the debt crisis in Europe on their main export markets and further business perspective. As a result, the bank's net loan portfolio went down by 4.4 percent year-on-year in 2011.

With country’s economy strengthening and customer risk decreasing, the bank set aside LTL 75.2 million in 2011 for the impaired loans. The amount was three times lower compared to 2010 when the specific provisions amounted to LTL 263.1 million.

Due to proper risk management the bank met all prudential requirements of the Bank of Lithuania.

Please check the Norway’s DNB bank operating results for 2011 on www.dnb.no .

AB DNB Bankas' operating results  for the first quarter of 2012 will be released on 28^t April.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

AB DNB Bankas, formerly DnB NORD (www.dnb.lt), provides banking services to over 685 thousand individual and corporate customers in Lithuania.

The bank’s sole shareholder is DNB Bank ASA (www.dnb.no), Norway’s largest financial services group. It is one of the few European banks reporting a net profit during all quarters of the financial crisis. DNB Bank is  the second largest bank in Nordic region and the 20th in Europe in terms of market capitalisation. 

The government of Norway holds 34 percent DNB Bank ASA shares. The shares of the bank are traded on Oslo stock exchange. DNB ASA operates in 19 countries worldwide and it is the world's leading lender to shipping industry and plays a significant role in the energy sector. In Norway DNB group is the leader in loan, deposit, asset management, life insurance, pension funds, payment and other banking areas related with money, capital and real estate markets.

 "We are grateful to the executives of the companies or their representatives who swiftly opened new accounts with us or indicated the existing ones in DNB since that  made it possible to ensure swift repayment process and transfer the money on the same business day the funds from VĮ "Indėlių ir investicijų draudimas“ were received. We are very pleased that you entrusted the bulk of the sum to our bank“, - says Lijana Žmoginaite, the head of DNB Sales management department.

The average amount of repaid indemnities per company accounted for 32.6 thousand Litas. Under the companies‘request 557 thousand Litas were paid out in cash and 22.8 million litas were transferred to corporate account in DNB and other country‘s banks. VĮ "Indėlių ir investicijų draudimas" allocated 24.4 million Litas to 1089 former AB Bankas Snoras corporate customers in Telšiai and Utena regions. The companies eligible for the payouts have not withdrawn 1.1 million Litas of insurance indemnities yet and can do so within five years from the day of the insured event.

Representatives of the companies willing to withdraw their insurance indemnities are welcome to visit DNB Bankas outlet at their convenience. Please have the following documents:
- an extended register extract from the Register of Legal Entities (issued or approved not earlier than 3 months before the day of submission of the application) or an access key to the electronic extract by the State Enterprise Centre of Registers;
- a notarised authorisation of the executive of the legal entity (in case it is not the executive who is applying to the Bank);
- a valid Personal ID.

A company's executive or authorised person is required to have a company seal.

DNB Bankas is pleased to offer to the executives or authorised persons to take advantage of a special business offer – Banko abonementas® .

For the convenience of the business representatives DNB Bankas provides financial services in 79 banking outlets countrywide and the customers can easily withdraw cash in all ATMs of DNB and SEB banks on equal terms. Call 1608 for a consultation at DNB Bank.

The companies willing to find out which Bank to address on insurance benefit return are invited to visit the website of VĮ "Indėlių ir investicijų draudimas" www.iidraudimas.lt . Please call VĮ "Indėlių ir investicijų draudimas" at the numbers: 8 5 2135657, 8 5 2133908 and find out the amount of the insurance benefit.

Almost 25 percent of new legal entities registered in the country‘s Register of Legal Entities this year were registered via internet, i.e. out of approximately 8.4 thousand new legal entities set-up some two thousand chose to do that online and the number is constantly increasing. Legal entities are registered in the self-service website of the  register www.registrucentras.lt/savitarna.

According to Evaldas Ruzgys, Product Development Department Manager of DNB Bankas, the founders willing to register a company and form its authorised capital may open cumulative account without visiting the bank. "Once the company's founder fills-in an e-form our bank's employee prepares a cumulative account agreement, signs it with e-signature and same day sends it back for the entrepreneur who just has to visit the bank to open current account.t"  said Evaldas  Ruzgys.

The project partner was Etronika firm. The company's specialists designed a system that allows a customer to confirm his identity with e-signature easily and quickly. The company also designed and implemented a safe process for data exchange between the bank and the Centre of Registers. Kęstutis Gardžiulis, Director of UAB Etronika, said Etronika was glad to implement this challenging task that also resulted in useful experience for the future projects.

A possibility to handle formalities of opening a cumulative account via internet is just one of the services offered by DNB Bankas to business start-ups, i.e. there are other specific financial solutions available to new companies.

For a period of up to one year DNB Bankas offers each newly registered legal entity free-of-charge payment orders, free opening of accounts and business payment card Furthermore, each legal entity is asigned a personal bank‘s manager who helps the customer to find financial solutions that meet the company's financial needs best.

DNB Bankas is a member of Norway's largest financial services group, that provides banking services to 685 thousand individual and corporate customers in Lithuania.

The Baltic region has led the European Union (EU) in terms of economic growth this year. However, the inevitable downturn of the common market caused by pending cuts to public expenditure in many countries will have a strong effect on foreign trade in the three Baltic countries. Although both foreign trade and economic growth will slow, the growth  tempo will remain faster than in other EU countries.

The prolonged debt crisis in Europe and acute uncertainty about further developments are worsening the expectations of businesses and households and are having a negative effect on domestic consumption and investment plans as businesses tend to refrain from taking risks. Next year, these will be the main reasons behind the economic trends.

In the Baltic region, Estonia has a better long-term outlook, while slow-moving public sector reforms, lack of interest from foreign investors and strong emigration will be the primary obstacles for economic growth in Lithuania and Latvia.

Lithuania. If the EU entered into a new period of recession, it would have a depressing effect on economic development in Lithuania. The potential consequences could be mitigated by improvements in investments and competitiveness. However, that requires a consistent, energetic and targeted public policy. It looks the government has set the right targets and is trying to achieve them, but progress has been modest, as reflected by the results of both business surveys and international competitiveness studies. The public sector and business environment must be reformed to ensure stability and strong growth in the national economy, while the promotion of competitiveness should become a key priority for the government and for businesses. The DNB analysts forecast the country’s unemployment rate will end at 14% at the end of 2011 due to rising number of employed people and should ease  to 12% next year as emigration flows recede. The latest estimates also suggest that at the end of the year real wages will begin to grow as the inflationary pressure eases.

Latvia. More people are finding jobs in Latvia and wages have been rising more rapidly. Although the growth of real wages has been slow, domestic consumption has recovered on the back of falling unemployment. This is reflected by the growth of retail trade in Latvia, which has been one of the strongest in the European Union this year. However, long-term prospects for the national economy are bleak because of its severe sensitivity to demand changes in the EU region which is facing recession. The country must penetrate new markets and improve its competitiveness, which has been low so far.

Estonia. Encouraging indicators such as the recovering labour market, non-existent emigration and strong foreign trade point to fairly bright long-term prospects. However, excellent achievements cannot protect the national economy from negative external factors. The prospects for economic development in Estonia’s main foreign partners in the next two years have deteriorated and a leap similar to that seen this year should not be expected in 2012-2013. On the other hand, Estonia’s policy target to raise investment will help mitigate negative external impacts on the economy and growth will return to a sustainable level in 2013. Lending to households and businesses will remain sluggish next year due to the high debt level in the private sector.

Projections of key macroeconomic indicators

The new name of the bank in Lithuania will be AB DNB Bankas. DNB abbreviation stands for Den Norske Bank, meaning the Norwegian bank in Lithuanian. It clearly reflects the bank is part of Norway's largest financial services group which in 19 countries around the globe will foster a culture of financial services that creates value to customers.

"This means that we will continue to build long-term relationships with our customers. We aim that each client who enters DNB bank should feel he is welcome and the financial services he is offered meet and exceed his expectations" Bjornar Lund, the President and Chairman of the Management Board commented on the bank’s name change.

Singles out in the market

The new modern DNB logo was created by Snohetta design and architecture studio, the company which gained its recognition for prize winning projects like Oslo Opera House or Ground zero Memorial in New York.

"I believe that every person who sees our new logo feels - it is forward looking, energetic and friendly bank ", - says Bjornar Lund.

Fifteen banking outlets in Vilnius, Kaunas, Klaipėda, Šiauliai and Panevėžys have been already decorated with a new logo by now. The bank’s website and the internet banking system have been upgraded with the new design. It is planned to complete the re-branding of all banking outlets by the end of March 2012.

It’s the content that matters most  

"Our key task is to fill our new logo with new content .For two years running we have been ranked among top quality financial service providers in the local market but we are also well aware how much we still can do that our customers feel the difference – DNB has become an even better bank for them.“ B. Lund said.

According to the bank’s CEO, a different DNB attitude to customer needs is well illustrated by the first time home buyers' program that already won recognition. The programme does not only extend a mortgage credit but also embraces an option to repay the loan early free of charge if the family's financial situation strengthens or skip a payment once a year upon facing temporary financial shortfall.

A similar holistic approach is taken when providing financial services to businesses. When extending financing of investment project the bank foresees a 10 percent annual skip a payment option should its implementation falls behind the schedule.

The bank that provides financial services through one of the country’s largest customer service network will now become even better available to its customers. Starting from 11 November the customers will be able to contact the Bank by calling the Contact Centre working the longest hours in Lithuania, i.e. from 8:00 a.m. until 12:a.m. on workdays and from 9:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. on Saturdays, on Facebook social network or via Iphone.

Long-term commitment

Norway's financial services group DNB became the bank’s sole shareholder at the end of last year sending a clear signal of its long-term commitment to the Lithuanian market.

"We are looking at the long term perspective and already are working on a feasibility study to build a new DNB office in Vilnius that should also house a modern financial service centre to customers,” B. Lund said adding the bank was aiming to present its proposal for the shareholders approval by the end of the year.

Business as usual

The names of the bank’s subsidiaries  have also been changed accordingly. Starting November 11, the new name of asset management company DnB NORD Investicijų Valdymas will be DNB Investicijų Valdymas, the bank’s leasing arm DnB NORD Lizingas  will be named DNB Lizingas and the real estate agency DnB NORD Būstas  will operate with DNB Būstas name.

The change of the bank’s and its subsidiaries name will cause no inconvenience to the customers  The account numbers will remain the same, all concluded agreements will continue in effect, payment cards and all services will be provided in the usual manner. Registered address of the bank, its legal status, legal entity code and the register where the data about the company is collected and stored as well as VAT payer code will also remain unchanged.

Additional Information

AB DNB Bankas, formerly DnB NORD (www.dnb.lt), provides banking services to over 670 thousand individual and corporate customers in Lithuania.

The sole shareholder DNB Bank ASA (www.dnb.no) is the largest bank in Norway and as of the end of July its assets under management amounted to 268 billion Euro (925 billion Litas). It is one of few European banks reporting a net profit during all quarters of the financial crisis. During this period, DnB NOR became the second largest bank in Nordic region and the 20th in Europe in terms of market capitalisation. 

The government of Norway holds 34 percent DNB Bank ASA shares. The shares of the bank are traded on Oslo stock exchange.  DNB ASA operates in 19 countries worldwide and it is the world's largest arranger of loans for shipping industry as well as a large player within loans to the energy sector. In Norway DNB group is the leader in loan, deposit, asset management, life insurance, pension funds, payment and other banking areas related with money, capital and real estate markets.

"The financial result reflects our active and consistent efforts on providing the bank’s individual and corporate customers with financial services that meet to their needs best as well as the bank’s focus on management of loan portfolio quality. Moderate growth seen in the mortgage and consumer credit market, more stable situation in corporate customer segment and, the continuous increase in number of our customers, the trend that we are particularly proud of, also contributed positively to the bank’s financial result in the first nine months of the year,” said Bjørnar Lund, the CEO and the Chairman of the Management Board of AB DnB NORD Bankas.

Due to growing volume of individual and corporate deposit accounts and the increasing number of customers which rose by 17 thousand in July- September period alone, AB DnB NORD Bankas' deposit portfolio increased by 7.2 percent in the first nine months of the year to to reach LTL 4.65 billion. The bank’s deposit portfolio rose by 14.6 percent compared to the same period a year ago.

In the first nine months of 2011 AB DnB NORD Bankas signed new loan agreements worth LTL 1.4 billion with new credits granted exceeding the volume of loans repaid in the third quarter of the year. The faster growth of new credit portfolio was slowed down after some corporate customers took time to assess the impact of the debt crisis in Europe on their key export markets and their business development perspectives. As of the end of September the bank's net loan portfolio amounted to LTL 9.12 billion, off 1.9 percent compared to the beginning of the year.

Pursuing further a conservative risk management policy, the bank allocated LTL 7.4 million to cover the loan value impairment in the third quarter of 2011. This was more than twice lower compared to the amounts set aside in the the first two quarters of the year on average. With the country's economy gaining momentum and customer risks decreasing, the bank’s provisions totalled LTL 45 million in the first nine months of 2011. In the same period last year special provisions made stood at LTL 247.8 million.

Due to proper risk management AB DnB NORD Bankas met all prudential requirements of the Bank of Lithuania.

Please find Norway's DnB NOR operating results for the first nine months of 2011 on the web page www. dnbnor.no.

The new name of the bank shall be changed upon receipt of the permit by the Bank of Lithuania and registration of the respective amendments to its Bylaws in the Register of Legal Entities of the Republic of Lithuania with effect from 11 November 2011.

"The new name will clearly reflect the bank's shareholder structure and emphasize that all the banks that are part of the Norway's largest financial group in 19 countries worldwide shall consistently foster a culture of financial services that creates value to its customers and partners,” - Bjornar Lund, the president and the chairman of the management board of AB DnB NORD Bankas says.

While changing the bank's name the customer account numbers will remain the same, all concluded agreements will continue in effect, payment cards and all services will be provided in the usual manner. Registered address of the Bank, its legal status, legal entity code and the register where the data about the company is collected and stored as well as VAT payer code will also remain unchanged.

By the end of the year all banks-members of DnB NOR financial group as well as subsidiaries in Norway and in all countries where the group is operating shall carry one name DNB.
DNB - is an abbreviation of Den Norske Bank. Translated into Lithuanian it means the Norwegian bank.

Frequently asked questions

What will change after the new name of the Bank is registered?
After registration of the amendments to the Bylaws of the Bank in the Register of Legal Entities on 11 November 2011 the new Bank's name will be AB DNB Bankas.
Upon change of the name registered address of the Bank, its legal status, legal entity code and the register where the data about the company is collected and stored as well as VAT payer code shall remain unchanged.

Will the names of the Bank's subsidiaries change?
Yes. Upon change of the Bank's name the names of the subsidiaries will be changed as well as the respective amendments made to their Bylaws in the Register of Legal Entities of the Republic of Lithuania. UAB DnB NORD Investicijų Valdymas will change its name to UAB DNB Investicijų Valdymas, UAB DnB NORD Lizingas to AB DNB Lizingas, and UAB DnB NORD Būstas to UAB DNB Būstas.

What should our customers and partners know in light of the Bank's re-branding?
The change of the Bank's name will not affect the bank‘s customers and partners. Upon change of the name all rights and liabilities under outstanding contracts will remain unchanged, customer accounts will remain the same and all payment cards issued by the Bank will be valid.

All customer service outlets will work the usual hours, ATMs, internet and mobile banking systems will operate in the normal mode. The same internet banking system access codes and passwords will be valid and there will be no need change them.

Certainly, the new Bank's name will be clearly visible in the Bank's website and internet banking site, however the visual changes will be made in a manner causing least troubles to the customers (as a rule it is done during Saturday to Sunday night hours). As always our customers and partners will be notified about the technical works in advance via the Bank's website and internet banking system.

Why will the name of the Bank and its subsidiaries be changed?
Late last year Norway's DnB NOR Bank ASA (www.dnbnor.com) acquired 49 percent shareholding of AB DnB NORD Bankas from Germany's bank NORD/LB and became the sole shareholder of the Bank demonstrating its long term comitmmet to the local market.

At the start of the year DnB NOR group decided that all banks that are part of DnB NOR financial will opearte under the same brand name DNB in all countries the banks and thier subisdiries operete.
So, the the new name AB DNB Bankas will clearly reflect that the Bank is the member of the Norway's largest financial group which will consistently foster a culture of financial services and customer service creating value to customers and partners in all the banks-members in 19 countries worldwide.

What does the new name stand for?
DNB – stands for Den Norske Bank. Translated into Lithuanian it means the Norwegian bank. It emphasises that the Bank is the member of the Norway's largest financial group which will change its brand into DNB in all its banks in 19 countries worldwide by the end of the year.

About DnB
DnB NOR Bank ASA (www.dnbnor.com) is the largest bank in Norway with tptal combined assets of 268 billion Euro (925 billion Litas) as at the end of June. It is one of the few European banks reporting a net profit during all quarters of the financial crisis. During this period, DnB NOR became the second largest bank in Nordic region and the 21st in Europe in terms of market capitalisation.

The government of Norway holds 34 percent DnB NOR Bank ASA shares. The shares of the bank are traded on Oslo stock exchange. DnB NOR ASA operates in 19 countries worldwide. In Norway DnB NOR group is the leader in loan, deposit, asset management, life insurance, pension funds, payment and other banking areas related with money, capital and real estate markets. It is one of the world‘s largest shipping banks and is the major player in global energy sector.

The interest-free period of the new DnB NORD Bankas' Power Card, is up to 46 days. That means that upon use of a credit in the card and having covered it by 16th day of the coming month, no interest needs to be paid on the credit for the period..

According to Evaldas Ruzgys, Director of the Product Development Department of DnB NORD Bankas, the holders of Power Card will be taken care when travelling abroad: they get insured against accidents and medical expenses. The insurance covers not only to the card holder but also his spouse and children up to 18 years old. The family of the golden Power Card holder gets  additionally insured against postponed journey, delayed and lost luggage as well as are provided with the civil liability insurance that compensates unintentionally caused damage to the health or property of other persons. Moreover, the medical expenses insurance will cover the skiing and diving risk.

“Power Card is active twenty-four hours a day seven days a week, both when you travel or stay at home. We are very pleased that cooperation with our partner UAB Altas Assistance helped us to be the first in the market offering new value to customers helping them to solve unexpected household accidents easy and smooth. For instance upon breakdown of a door-lock, glass breakage or water supply pipeline failure, the company's technical service specialists will effect repair works necessary any time of the day", - Evaldas Ruzgys said.

When  the Power Card holder calls for technical assistance in Lithuania UAB Altas Assistance service men will repair the door, change the broken windows and take care of the house safety in case it is impossible to aid breakdowns instantly and it is necessary to buy a new door-lock, or other materials. The assistance will be also provided in case of malfunction of air-conditioning or heating systems. The card holder will not be required to pay for the repair services if the fee for provided services fall within 300 Litas limit. In case the technical service costs more, the card holder will be eligible to cover the difference above 300 litas limit or choose the service range within the fee-free service range. The number of emergency calls is unlimited. The customer is free to purchase the materials required for repair works himself or ask the service men to take care of that while covering the purchase expenses.

DnB NORD Bankas' credit Power Card is available upon one-time issue fee of LTL 10 and is subject to monthly card maintenance fee of LTL 4.30. The issue fee of the golden credit card Power Card is LTL 20, card maintenance monthly fee is LTL 11.11.

DnB NORD Bankas is a member of Norway's largest financial group DnB NOR. The Bank provides comprehensive range of banking services to 670 thousand individual and corporate customers in Lithuania.

In line with decreasing customer risks the bank set aside LTL 37.6 million for special provisions in the first six months of 2011, the amount five times lower compared to the same period the year before. As a result, according to the preliminary unaudited data, AB DnB NORD Bankas earned a net profit of LTL 36.2 million in the first six months of the year. At the same period last year the bank had incurred a net loss of LTL 129.6 million.

„We look forward to the rest of 2011 with confidence based on the increased credit demand for investment projects in manufacturing sector, positive trends in the mortgage loans market and lower than expected risk costs due to the improvement of customers’ repayment capability evident in the second quarter of the year. We are particularly pleased about the growing number of customers who use DnB NORD as their home bank which reflects our efforts to respond fast and flexibly to changing customer needs and translates into sustained income growth from the bank’s core business.” says Bjørnar Lund, the CEO and the Chairman of the Management Board of AB DnB NORD Bankas.

The bank’s systematic efforts to improve further operating efficiency resulted in income growth that outpaced the rise of operating costs. AB DnB NORD Bankas’ first half income rose 3.3 percent year-on-year to LTL 162.5 million. Within the same period the bank’s operating and other expenses were up 2.1 percent year-on-year and made LTL 88.7 million.

Responding to growing demand for investment projects financing especially among food processing and energy companies as well as agricultural sector, AB DnB NORD Bankas signed new loan agreements worth LTL 726.4 million during the first six months of 2011. Despite that, the bank's net loan portfolio eased 5.7 percent year-on-year to LTL 9.01 billion as at the end of June.

With number of DnB NORD Bankas’ individual and corporate customers increasing by 16 thousand in the first six months of 2011, the bank’s deposit portfolio rose 9.3 percent year-on-year to LTL 4.4 billion. Since the year-start AB DnB NORD Bankas' deposit portfolio went up by 2.6 percent largely due 4 pct. growth of funds on accounts of retail customers.

Due to proper risk management AB DnB NORD Bankas met all prudential requirements of the Bank of Lithuania.

Please find the first half 2011 results of Norway’s DnB NOR bank on www.dnbnor.no.

The recognition of excellence in STP from Deutsche Bank AG went to DnB NORD Bankas, part of Norway‘s largest financial services group, for the fifth year running.

“Congratulations and thank you for your excellence in STP. Deutsche Bank strongly values its long standing and productive relationship with DnB NORD Bankas, and we look forward to working together in 2011,” said Paul E. Camp, Managing Director of Global Transaction Unit in Deutsche Bank AG in a letter to DnB NORD Bankas.

In 2010 Deutsche Bank AG was the main correspondent bank of DnB NORD Bankas for international settlements in Euro. About 70 percent of the total international transactions of DnB NORD Bankas customers in single European currency were performed through Deutsche Bank.

“We are proud of the recognition of professionalism of our specialists and the quality of their work which means that international payment orders made by our customers in DnB NORD Bankas constantly reach beneficiaries fast and safe,” said Vaineta Barevičiūtė, executive vice-president of DnB NORD Bankas in charge of back office operations.

AB DnB NORD Bankas, part of Norway’s largest bank DnB NOR provides comprehensive range of financial services to 670 thousand retail and corporate customers in Lithuania.

According to Prof. Rimantas Rudzkis, Senior Analyst at DnB NORD, better than expected economic results this year will be ensured not only by the growing markets of Lithuania’s major foreign trade partners, larger production volumes due to better use of the existing production capacities and faster absorption of EU support but also by the gradually recovering domestic consumption.

“We see that the falling unemployment rate translates into better consumer sentiment. People save less and household consumption rate is on the rise. Therefore, export driven economy will be also backed by a moderate growth of domestic demand,” said Prof. Rimantas Rudzkis during the presentation of the latest issue of the Lithuanian Economic Outlook by the Economic Research Team of DnB NORD.

The ability of Lithuanian business companies to adapt to new economic realities will also have a positive effect on the economy. After losses incurred in 2009, the overall profitability ratio of non-financial corporations in Lithuania was positive and stood above 3% last year.

“The improving financial standing and expectations of companies will facilitate business growth and banks are likely to adjust their lending policies in line with decreasing risks,” said Prof. Rudzkis.

DnB NORD analysts point out, however, that many households will not feel the positive effect of the growing economy in their daily lives this year. The reason behind that is the fact that prices of the basic necessities are going up faster than average wages. DnB NORD analysts predict that the annual inflation rate will be around 4% this year, while average wages will rise by 3% in 2011 year-on-year.

DnB NORD analysts believe that the strong economic growth cannot be sustained for a longer period without foreign direct investment to exporting industries given the global nature of the economy nowadays. The investment climate in Lithuania continues to be negatively affected by excessive red tape in the business environment, not efficient enough public sector and lack of consistent economic policies by the government. These factors not only keep foreign investors at bay but also force the Lithuanian capital to target the markets of other countries.

In addition, the structural shortage of labour will continue to impede sustainable economic development as a result of emigration and shortcomings of the vocational training system.

“We have found ourselves in a vicious circle: the shortage of good jobs drives young people abroad, while the growing deficit of skilled labour becomes a serious obstacle to creating these jobs. To be able to break this circle, the country needs to find ways for more business friendly environment and make public sector more efficient. Only such reform will enable Lithuania to restore confidence in the positive economic outlook of the country and curb the wave of emigration. Otherwise, we will lose too many people and hopes to bridge the gap with the leading European nations in terms of the quality of life,” added Prof. Rudzkis.

In their analysis of the development of Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian markets over the last decade, DnB NORD economists draw attention to the fact that the economies of the three countries made an impressive leap during the period despite undergoing the steepest downturn in the European Union in 2008–2009. Their GDP at constant prices rose by margins of 53%, 43% and 46% in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia respectively between 2000 and 2010. Lithuania had the best indicator as the country was not as severely hit by the crisis as Estonia or Latvia due to lower overheating of its economy. In terms of the average rate of economic growth in 2000–2010, only Slovakia was ahead of Lithuania among EU member states. GDP per capita in Lithuania in purchasing power standards made up around 55% of the EU average.

Lithuania’s economy forecasts	2011	2012	2013
Real GDP, annual change, %	6.0	4.0	3.0
Current account balance, ratio to GDP, %	-1.0	-2.0	-3.0
Annual inflation, %1)	4.0	3.0	2.5
Average gross monthly earnings, annual change, %1)	3.0	5.0	4.0
Unemployment rate, % 1)	13.0	10.0	8.0
General government budget balance, ratio to GDP, %	-5.5	-4.0	-3.0

 ¹⁾ End of period

Source: DnB NORD Bankas

The electronic version of the Lithuanian Economic Outlook can be found at and downloaded from the Publications section on the website of DnB NORD Bank at www.dnbnord.lt. Detailed materials of presentation of the publication on 13 June 2011 are also available there.

Private and corporate customers will be able to make SEPA payments in euro to any country across the entire SEPA territory. They are required to provide IBAN to identify the beneficiary’s account and BIC to identify the beneficiary’s bank. Payments can be made at any banking outlet (until 10 p.m.) or via Internet (until 9.3O p.m.) and will be executed within 2 banking days.

As not every bank is able to receive or send SEPA payments, please refer to SEPA participant banks on the right side of dnbnord.lt/en website in order to find out if you can send a SEPA payment to the chosen bank.

Fees for SEPA payments:

Service	Fee
SEPA payment order:
given at the bank	LTL 50
given via e-banking system	LTL 40
Administration of  funds received as SEPA credit transfer	LTL 5

For SEPA credit transfer form and the requirements for its completion click here.

To learn more about SEPA refer to the Bank’s of Lithuania Internet website.

At the same time, in line with decreasing customer risk, the bank set aside LTL 16.9 million for the impaired loans, the amount five times lower compared to the same period the year before. As a result, according to the preliminary unaudited data, AB DnB NORD Bankas earned a net profit of LTL 22.3 million in the first three months of the year. At the same period last year the bank had incurred a loss of LTL 53.1 million.

"In the corporate banking segment, we see more companies that have reactivated their investment plans and now are actively working to secure financing to bring the projects to life. That is particularly true for companies operating in energy, food processing and agricultural industries. Increasing corporate sales also give impetus to working capital demand growth. We are also encouraged by stronger mortgage market in the country’s top three cities, Vilnius in particular, however the credit demand growth here continues to be capped by limited purchasing power of households and tight situation in the labour market," says Bjørnar Lund, the CEO and the Chairman of the Management Board of AB DnB NORD Bankas.

Due to the increasing demand for financial services, AB DnB NORD Bankas’ first quarter income rose 8.5 percent year-on-year to LTL 84.47 million. Within the same period the bank’s operating and other expenses were up 2.6 percent and made 41.76 million.
With more projects meeting credit risk criteria, especially among exporters, AB DnB NORD Bankas signed new loan agreements worth LTL 285.7 million during the first quarter of 2011. Although the bank's overall net loan portfolio eased 6.2 percent year-on-year to LTL 9.2 billion as at the end of March, the amount of credits extended to legal entities remained stabile pver the period at LTL 5.2 billion.

The bank's focus on service quality and efforts to encourage existing and new individual and corporate customers choose DnB NORD as their home bank helped to increase the bank’s deposit portfolio 23.4 percent year-on-year up to LTL 4.69 billion. Since the year-start alone AB DnB NORD Bankas' deposit portfolio went up by 8.1 percent largely due continued growth of funds on accounts of legal entities.

Due to proper risk management AB DnB NORD Bankas met all prudential requirements of the Bank of Lithuania.

Please find the first quarter 2011 results of Norway’s DnB NOR bank on www. dnbnor.no.

This novel credit model in local agricultural market was first introduced by AB DnB NORD Bankas and UAB "Litagros prekyba" a year ago. The initial contract had stipulated the minimum limit for purchased goods at 50 thousand Litas, therefore the new agreement provided a wider availability to an interest-free working capital financing.

"The experience of the first year of cooperation showed that such a model of providing working capital financing creates value added to all the three parties involved, therefore, after taking into consideration farmers’ proposals and requests we have lowered the bar for the credit purchases. Now plant and vegetable growing farms purchasing fertilisers and seeds will be able to take advantage of those favourable financing conditions. Already in the nearest future we intend to expand the number of the partners and provide the farmers more options to purchase goods required for production of agricultural output at these favourable terms," - said Evaldas Ruzgys, Director of the Product Development Department of DnB NORD Bankas.

The credits of DnB NORD Bankas are granted for a period of up to 16 months. The credit is repaid upon expiry of the agreement. "Litagros prekyba" undertakes to pay interest payable by the customer and when purchasing goods at bigger amount the farmer is given an additional financial incentive package.

The essential advantage of the partnership-based financing model is the fact that the farmers who are applying for a credit get access to interest-free financing without pledging their property as the repayment of bigger credits is guaranteed by "Žemės ūkio paskolų garantijų fondas" (Rural Credit Guarantee Fund). The credits will be available to farmers and agricultural companies recommended to the bank by "Litagros prekyba" which has a long experience in agricultural sector.

DnB NORD Bankas has always paid much attention to financing agricultural sector. Farmers and agricultural companies are offered various financial services of DnB NORD Bankas intended for corporate clients. Before financing is provided, the bank evaluates each client's financial situation and business specifics and consults the client on preventive measures from turning the loan into burden.

AB DnB NORD Bankas, part of the Norway's largest financial services’ group DnB NOR, provides comprehensive range of banking services to over 650 thousand individual and corporate customers in Lithuania.

DnB NORD Bankas will pay up to 2.80 percent annual interest rates on Litas and Euro term deposit depending on the period chosen.

For US dollar term deposits up to 2.20 percent annual interest rates will be paid depending on the period chosen.

DnB NORD Bankas pays 0.15 percentage point premium on standard rates for longer than one month period deposits which are placed via Internet.

To earn higher rates see more details on “Deposit plan 3, 6, 12” saving program (click here) that offers up to 0.9 percentage points higher interest compared to the standard rates.

Customer deposits held within DnB NORD Bankas are secured by the state company Deposit and Investment Insurance in accordance with the Law on Insurance of Deposits and Liabilities to Investors of the Republic of Lithuania.

Following the receipt of permission of Bank of Lithuania to become the bank’s manager, he will replace dr. Vygintas Bubnys who will return to his previous position in the bank as deputy chairman of the management board and vice-president of AB DnB NORD Bankas in charge of large corporate customers, investment banking and product development.

"This is an important step towards even closer integration between DnB NORD and DnB NOR. It underlines the long-term perspective of DnB NOR's operations in Lithuania," says Terje Turnes, head of the Baltic and Poland division in DnB NOR.
Bjørnar Lund has been working in DnB NOR since 1987 and has extensive experience from various managerial positions within corporate and retail operations in DnB NOR in Norway. In addition, he has international experience as head of the Nordic Desk in Singapore.

Today, Bjørnar Lund works as a regional general manager in DnB NOR with responsibility for both retail customers and large corporates. He is 48 years old and has a Master’s degree in Science of Business from BI Norwegian School of Management.
Dr. Vygintas Bubnys (born 1958) is a doctor of social sciences. He has been working at DnB NORD Bankas since 2000 and in Lithuania’s financial sector since 1990.

AB DnB NORD Bankas, fully owned by Norway’s largest financial institution DnB NOR, is a universal commercial bank that provides a comprehensive range of financial services to more that 650 000 individual and corporate customers in Lithuania.

With Norway’s largest financial institution becoming the sole ultimate owner of the bank, it has been decided that AB DnB NORD Bankas shall use the ratings of DnB NOR ASA bank. Fitch Ratings had assigned DnB NOR’s long-term issuer default rating at “A+” with stable outlook. Going forward no separate Fitch ratings shall be set for AB DnB NORD Bankas.

“We are proud about the high creditworthiness rating of the bank that reflects its stable and reliable performance throughout the entire economic slowdown. That sends a clear signal to the market that we are well positioned to provide financial services to our customers on very competitive terms - now and going ahead,” says dr. Vygintas Bubnys, the president of and the chairman of the management board of AB DnB NORD Bankas.

Fitch Ratings also affirmed AB DnB NORD Bankas short term borrowing rating F1, individual rating „D/E“ and the support rating „1“.

AB DnB NORD Bankas is a universal commercial bank that offers comprehensive range of financial services to more than 650 thousand individual and business customers in Lithuania.

DnB NORD Bankas will pay up to 2.80 percent annual interest rates on litas term deposit depending on the term chosen.

For euro term deposits DnB NORD Bankas will pay up to 2.70 percent annual interest rates depending on the term chosen.

For US dollar term deposits up to 2 percent annual interest rates will be paid depending on the term chosen.

DnB NORD Bankas pays 0.15 percentage point premium on standard rates for longer than one month period deposits which are placed via Internet.

To earn higher rates see more details on “Deposit plan 3, 6, 12” saving program (click here) that offers up to 0.9 percentage points higher interest compared to the standard rates.

Customer deposits held within DnB NORD Bankas are secured by the state company Deposit and Investment Insurance in accordance with the Law on Insurance of Deposits and Liabilities to Investors of the Republic of Lithuania.

Issue is placed under EUR 300.000.000 medium-term notes program.

Notes shall be subscribed from 14^th March until 18^th April (including), 2011. The notes shall be redeemed on 21^st April, 2014.

However, taking into account the impact of the economic downturn on some individual and corporate customers, the bank continued to pursue a conservative customer risk valuation and set aside LTL 243.1 million in provisions in 2010, LTL 200 million of it in the first half of the year. Since the financial service market started to recover and the volume of provisions went down due to lower customer risk  in the second half of the year, the consolidated net loss of the AB DnB NORD Bankas group decreased to LTL 113.1 million in full year 2010 from LTL 406.9 million the year before. AB DnB NORD Bankas net loss in full year 2010 went down to LTL 122.6 million and was more than three times lower compared to full year 2009 result.

More stable business environment

"With Lithuania’s economy returning back to path of recovery, the business environment had balanced out somewhat and operating risks began to ease gradually. The economy was lifted by a marked increase in business activity among customers oriented to export markets, the demand for financial services picked up slightly and there appeared signs of activity in mortgage market in the second half of the year. After a prolonged break we also saw an emerging demand for financing of investment projects," dr. Vygintas Bubnys, CEO and the chairman of the Management Board of DnB NORD Bankas, said.

In 2010 AB DnB NORD Bankas extended LTL 1.2 billion of new credits and its net loan portfolio totalled LTL 9.3 billion as at the end of December 2010. Due to still limited number of projects that met credit risk criteria combined with decline in volume of loans granted in the preceding years, the bank’s loan portfolio eased by 9.9 percent year-on-year.

Trend positive

"With the existing economic trend ongoing we expect the business environment to continue improving gradually. Once the domestic consumption orientated industries join the more active performance of exporters in the second half of the year, we expect the investment projects financing demand to increase further. However the faster growth in consumer and mortgage loan market is likely to remain caped by high unemployment rate and limited purchasing power of private individuals,” dr. Vygintas Bubnys said.

As a result of continued focus on service quality and consistent efforts to increase the number of customers who choose DnB NORD as their home bank and actively use various services of the Group, throughout the year the deposit portfolio peaked over the last three years. At the end of December the deposit portfolio of private individuals and legal entities made up LTL 4.3 billion. The deposit portfolio of AB DnB NORD bankas grew by 27.1 percent year-on-year.

Heading towards the new brand name

An important event to AB DnB NORD Bankas in 2010 was the fact that in late December the Norway's largest financial institution DnB NOR became the sole shareholder of DnB NORD group. On Thursday, during the presentation of 2010 results to investors in Oslo, DnB NOR announced its plans to change the name into DNB of the entire group, including DnB NORD, by the end of the year.

"The new name of the bank will emphasise that upon successful completion of the integration process we will become an integral part of Norway's largest financial institution, “said dr. Vygintas Bubnys.

The proposed new brand name DNB stands for Den Norske Bank, which translated into Lithuanian means the Norwegian bank.

The new name is subject to approval of shareholders of DnB NOR. DnB NOR is working with both Norwegian and international agencies on a graphic design and colours of the new logo.

DnB NOR group in Norway and internationally includes such well known brands as Postbanken,  Nordlandsbanken, Cresco, Carlson, Vital, Monchebank, DnB NORD, etc.

To view DnB NOR Group’s 2010 results, please visit: www.dnbnor.com

Notes shall be subscribed from 8^th February until 7^th March (including), 2011. The notes shall be redeemed on 10^th March, 2014.

Since year-end 2005, the Norwegian bank DnB NOR ASA and the German bank Norddeutsche Landesbank Girozentrale have jointly owned Bank DnB NORD. On
23 December 2010, DnB NOR took over all shares in the company. The bank believes there is a further growth potential in DnB NORD.

“Today, Lithuania has a higher growth potential than the rest of Europe. We believe that now is the right time to increase our initiatives in this geographic area close to Norway. DnB NORD has healthy and sound banking operations and a very competent management and staff,” says Terje Turnes in DnB NOR.

DnB NOR is one of few European banks reporting a net profit during all quarters of the financial crisis. During this period, DnB NOR became the second largest bank in Nordic region and the 21 st in Europe in terms of market capitalisation. With one financially strong and dedicated owner it will be easier to make quick and good decisions than in a joint venture.

 “The fact that Norway’s largest financial institution has decided to increase its investments in Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Poland is a very clear signal to us and our customers that the DnB NOR sees a good long-term prospect here,” says dr. Vygintas Bubnys, the CEO and the chairman of the management board of DnB NORD Bankas. 

About DnB NOR:

• Total combined assets: EUR 250 billion
• Share of income from Norwegian operations: 83%
• Personal customers in Norway: 2 300 000
• Corporate clients in Norway: 200 000
• Branch offices in Norway: 218
• International branches: 27
• Full-time positions: 13 317
• CEO: Rune Bjerke

DnB NOR’s strengths are a local presence and a full range of products. DnB NOR has a unique platform in the Norwegian market with high market shares in all segments, the largest customer base and the most extensive distribution network. DnB NOR’s international target segments are shipping, energy and seafood.

For more information about DnB NOR please check www.dnbnor.com

Table: Projections of the main macroeconomic indicators

 1) the end of period

"We still feel the consequences of the economic downturn and have to continue focusing on helping some corporate and individual customers to meet their financial obligations; however, in the third quarter of the year we saw growing demand for financial services as well as some signs of recovery in credit market – during the recent three months the number of mortgage credits signed was growing by about one tenth month on month on average and after a long break we saw an emerging demand for investment projects financing. We anticipate that with existing economy trend ongoing, the recently seen pick-up in export oriented sectors will be joined by companies oriented to domestic consumption by the end of the year," said Werner Schilli, president and the chairman of the management board of AB DnB NORD Bankas.

Due to the efforts to further improve operating efficiency. AB DnB NORD Bankas operating and other expenses fell 2.4 percent year-on-year to LTL 120.9 million as at the end of September. That helped the bank to ease somewhat the impact of declining income that totalled LTL 242.7 million in the first nine months of 2010. The implementation of the efficient sales management program led to the increased net service and commission income, which made a positive impact on the total income level. At the end of September the bank’s net service and commission income amounted to LTL 43.4 million, up 2.5 percent year-on-year.
As at the end of September the net loan portfolio of AB DnB NORD Bankas totalled LTL 9.5 billion, down 7.9 percent compared to the beginning of the year. The signs of recovery seen in the credit market and lower volumes of provisioning made has slowed down the decline of the bank’s net loan portfolio in the third quarter of the year.

With an increasing number of customers and growing funds on corporate deposit accounts, the bank’s deposit portfolio rose by 18.8 percent up to LTL 4.1 billion since the year-start. With consistent efforts to increase the number of customers who choose DnB NORD as their home bank, the number of individual and corporate customers rose by 35 thousand since the start of the year to 706 thousand as at the end of September.

Due to proper risk management AB DnB NORD Bankas met all prudential requirements of the Bank of Lithuania.

The international rating agency "FitchRatings" has assigned the long-term borrowing rating “A” with a stable outlook to AB DnB NORD Bankas. This is the highest creditworthiness rating among Lithuanian commercial banks assigned by the agency.

"We still feel the consequences of the economic downturn and have to continue focusing on helping some corporate and individual customers to meet their financial obligations; however, in the third quarter of the year we saw growing demand for financial services as well as some signs of recovery in credit market – during the recent three months the number of mortgage credits signed was growing by about one tenth month on month on average and after a long break we saw an emerging demand for investment projects financing. We anticipate that with existing economy trend ongoing, the recently seen pick-up in export oriented sectors will be joined by companies oriented to domestic consumption by the end of the year," said Werner Schilli, president and the chairman of the management board of AB DnB NORD Bankas.

Due to the efforts to further improve operating efficiency. AB DnB NORD Bankas operating and other expenses fell 2.4 percent year-on-year to LTL 120.9 million as at the end of September. That helped the bank to ease somewhat the impact of declining income that totalled LTL 242.7 million in the first nine months of 2010. The implementation of the efficient sales management program led to the increased net service and commission income, which made a positive impact on the total income level. At the end of September the bank’s net service and commission income amounted to LTL 43.4 million, up 2.5 percent year-on-year.
As at the end of September the net loan portfolio of AB DnB NORD Bankas totalled LTL 9.5 billion, down 7.9 percent compared to the beginning of the year. The signs of recovery seen in the credit market and lower volumes of provisioning made has slowed down the decline of the bank’s net loan portfolio in the third quarter of the year.

With an increasing number of customers and growing funds on corporate deposit accounts, the bank’s deposit portfolio rose by 18.8 percent up to LTL 4.1 billion since the year-start. With consistent efforts to increase the number of customers who choose DnB NORD as their home bank, the number of individual and corporate customers rose by 35 thousand since the start of the year to 706 thousand as at the end of September.

Due to proper risk management AB DnB NORD Bankas met all prudential requirements of the Bank of Lithuania.

The international rating agency "FitchRatings" has assigned the long-term borrowing rating “A” with a stable outlook to AB DnB NORD Bankas. This is the highest creditworthiness rating among Lithuanian commercial banks assigned by the agency.

Since year-end 2005, DnB NOR ASA (DnB NOR) and Norddeutsche Landesbank Girozentrale (NORD/LB) have jointly owned Bank DnB NORD A/S (DnB NORD). On 2 August 2010, DnB NOR exercised its option to acquire NORD/LB’s 49 per cent ownership interest in DnB NORD. Since then, the parties have been in negotiations to agree on the consideration for the shares. An agreement has now been reached and after the completion of the transaction, DnB NOR will own 100 per cent of the shares in DnB NORD.

"The Baltic states and Poland have higher growth potential than Western Europe, and DnB NOR wishes to grow within the retail banking segment in these countries to realise its general growth ambitions. We are also seeing clear signs that the macroeconomic situation in the Baltic states is improving, and the Polish economy has been among the strongest in Europe throughout the financial crisis,” says Rune Bjerke, group chief executive of DnB NOR.
 
As of 30 September 2010, DnB NORD had approximately EUR 10 billion in total assets, 155 branch offices across the four countries where it is present (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland), around 960 000 customers and 3 100 employees.

DnB NORD will be organised as a division in the business area Large Corporates and International, which is headed by Leif Teksum, group executive vice president.

"We have already drawn up concrete plans of action to implement a good and efficient integration process. DnB NORD has highly qualified employees in all four markets and we will further strengthen the organisation with competent key employees from DnB NOR,” says Rune Bjerke.

The transaction is subject to the approval of the two banks' supervisory boards and the respective national regulatory authorities.

DnB NOR was advised by J.P. Morgan on this transaction.

Dr. Vygintas Bubnys appointed DnB NORD Bankas CEO from Nov. 1, Tadas Sudnius joins the board

VILNIUS. Dr. Vygintas Bubnys, deputy chairman of the Management Board, has been appointed chairman and chief executive officer of DnB NORD Bankas in Lithuania from 1 November 2010.

Dr. Vygintas Bubnys replaces current president and the chairman of DnB NORD Bankas Werner Schilli, who after eight years of work in the bank starts his office as director of Germany‘s Norddeutsche Landesbank (NORD/LB) and member of the Management Board of Braunschweigische Landessparkasse (BLSK) on 1 November 2010.

“Vygintas Bubnys is a very experienced banker and he knows the bank well as deputy chairman for many years. I am confident that he will navigate the bank through what remain challenging market conditions,” said Thomas Buerkle, Bank DnB NORD Group CEO, and chairman of DnB NORD Bankas Supervisory Council.

Vygintas Bubnys (born 1958) is a doctor of social sciences. He has been working at DnB NORD Bankas since 2000 and in Lithuania’s financial sector since 1990.

Fredrik Borch, who has been a member of the Management Board since March 2009 and the chief risk officer of the bank, has been appointed deputy chairman on the Management Board from November 1.

Additionally, Tadas Sudnius, currently head of the bank‘s Business integration department, has been elected to the bank‘s Management Board and appointed executive-vice president in charge of back-office operations from 1 October 2010. He replaces Gundars Andžans who will hold the position of the advisor to the president of DnB NORD Bankas with executive decision power on IT development related issues.

Tadas Sudnius (born 1981) has been working in AB DnB NORD Bankas since 2003. He holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Vilnius University.

AB DnB NORD Bankas is universal commercial bank that provides comprehensive range of financial services to individual and corporate customers. It is a member of Denmark based DnB NORD financial group that was established by the Norway’s largest bank DnB NOR ASA and North Germany’s largest bank NORD/LB.

Andrius Vilkancas,

Press officer

Tel: +370 5 2393 413,

andrius.vilkancas@dnbnord.lt

Mindaugas Tutlys will head DnB NORD Markets in Lithuania. Uldis Buss will head DnB NORD Markets in Latvia. In Poland, Tomasz Bilski as Head of Brokerage Office, and Jacek Dramiński as Head of Treasury Products Department will lead DnB NORD Markets.

"DnB NORD Markets collects our investment banking competences from across the region into one group, giving customers access to a wider variety of investment solutions, and more opportunities to benefit from each others capital markets. For example, we see Poland's capital market becoming an increasingly attractive one to the issuers in of the Baltic states," says Andrius Načajus, Head of DnB NORD Markets.

Bank DnB NORD is a strong and recognised name across the Scandinavian and Baltic region, with over 3,100 employees, 158 offices, more than 950,000 customers, assets totalling EUR 10.9 billion and operations spanning Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland.

DnB NORD Bankas will pay up to 2.50 percent annual interest rates on litas term deposit depending on term chosen.

DnB NORD Bankas pays 0.15 percentage point premium on standard rates for longer than one month period deposits which are placed via Internet.

To earn higher rates see more details on “Deposit plan 3, 6, 12” saving program (click here) that offers up to 0.9 percentage points higher interest compared to the standard rates.

Customer deposits held within DnB NORD Bankas are secured by the state company Deposit and Investment Insurance in accordance with the Law on Insurance of Deposits and Liabilities to Investors of the Republic of Lithuania.

DnB NORD Daily Card rivals other typical payment cards and at the same time offers discounts for various goods and services around the country. Every time money is spent with it, a part of the amount shall be transferred to Save the Children of Lithuania organization fund. The donations will be made by DnB NORD Daily Card partners, therefore card holders will not encounter additional expenses.

Jurgis Didžiulis, a highly respected and highly popular musician who also is a member of Save the Children of Lithuania board, became the ambassador for the charity and will personally take care of children’s dreams.

“It’s not our aim to compete with others by giving expensive gifts to foster care homes. We just want to encourage positive emotions and make children smile. Every time someone will use a card, it will be an act of a good will”, says Jurgis Didžiulis.

The first granted with smiles were children from Paparčiai foster care home. The little ones tried to play different instruments together with multi-instrumentalist Tomas Dobrovolskis, girls had a possibility to change their appearance at the studio of stylist Jurijus, and the boys were racing at go-kart track.

„Every time we organize activities for children we will find out their wishes and try o fulfill them“, says J. Didžiulis.

DnB NORD Daily Card holders will have a possibility to follow up how the charity money is used on the website www.dailycard.lt. They will also find list of venues where DnB NORD Daily Card discounts are applied.

The cards will be available in all DnB NORD banking outlets around across the country issue charge free until 31 October 2010. Together with DnB NORD Daily Card holders will get a gift and discount vouchers to be used in partners’ trading venues with total value exceeding 1000 Lt.

Werner Schilli has served as the president and the chairman of the management board of AB DnB NORD Bankas since December 2005 and has been a member of the management board since 2002.

With an increasing number of customers and growing funds on large corporate deposit accounts, the bank’s deposit portfolio rose by 19.3 percent in the first six months of the year up to LTL 4.1 billion as at the end of June 2010. In line with implementation of the bank’s customer promise to be a financial guide and a rising number of customers who choose DnB NORD as their home bank, the number of individual and corporate customers rose by almost 20 thousand during the first six months of the year to 690 thousand.

Due to proper risk management AB DnB NORD Bankas met all prudential requirements of the Bank of Lithuania. AB DnB NORD Bankas is assigned „A“level long term borrowing rating with stable outlook by international FitchRatings agency at the country‘s ceiling currently set by the agency.

During the forum 8 corporate beginners from Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Norway presented their business ideas to the potential Lithuanian investors. Prior to the event, based on the technique of the Seed Forum founder and President Steinar Hoel Korsmo and with the help of consultants the companies are to prepare a presentation of their business ideas with the special focus on the aspects relevant to the investors. A global 12000 investors network of Seed Forum is evolving as the "best practise" enterprise initiative.

"In Lithuania as well as in other countries there are companies with promising ideas that might be attractive to the potential investors. But these companies, especially the small ones sparsely have knowledge of proper investor-ready presentation so that the investors could see the benefits and would be tempted to invest into one or another idea. During the Seed Forum we are learning to speak the “investors' language" and open new horizons to the promising business plans" - says Steinar H. Korsmo.

According to the President the Seed Forum is constructive to the companies and investors. It is here that during one event it is possible to be presented with the ideas of almost ten companies from various countries, compare them and evaluate the possibilities and potential of each of them. "Usually when the investors find an attractive idea thy are forced to make calculations on the return of investment. At the Seed Forum the presenting business beginners are ready to provide calculations and forecasts of particular interest to the investors"- says the founder of the Seed Forum.

About Seed Forum
The Seed Forum concept was created in Norway. The first Seed Forum was hosted at Campus Kjeller, in Norway in 2002. The Seed Forum concept is developed as a best practice and as an entrepreneurial initiative, and today it covers the increasing number of the countries around the globe. A network of more than 12 thousand investors from 18 countries operates in the global Seed Forum which has held various investor matchmaking events in 26 countries. Up till now there have been 114 international forums held with 1200 participants who have completed pitch training.

For more information please contact:
Ignas Kamantauskas, ”Saulėtekio slėnis” (Sunrise Valley)
Tel.: +370 5 2500 601
ignas.kamantauskas@sunrisevalley.lt

"With the market facing the declined deposit interests we have been looking for the ways of providing our clients with a possibility of not only enjoying the heat of the World Championship but also to earn more with every victory by the National Team. For this purpose we have developed a savings plan that corresponds to the concept of DnB NORD Money factory that allows to count victories that turn into money together" - says Lijana Žmoginaitė, Manager of the Sales Management Department of DnB NORD Bank.

The Basketball Deposit Plan consists of term and investment deposit in equal parts. Since the beginning of the championship the customers who choose the savings plan will be paid by DnB NORD Bankas 5 percent annual interest on six month term deposit and additional 0.3 percentage point premium for each victory of the national squad in the Championship. In case of success Lithuania’s squad will play nine matches in Turkey and upon winning them the annual interest of the term deposit of the Basketball Deposit Plan may increase to 7.7 percent.

Profitability of the second part of the Basketball Deposit Plan, i.e. a three year investment deposit will depend on the key four raw material export market indexes. Every three months the depositors will be paid 5 percent annual interest gain if during that quarter indexes of Russia's RDX, Canada's S&P TS and Australia's S&P/ASX 20 index fund will at least increase 5 percent of the value fixed at the end of the deposit placement term. If on the quarterly observation dates any of these indices fall below the indicated barrier the notes will not accrue interest for that quarter. In either case the investment deposits are principal protected. The interest accrued from the investment deposit shall be subject to withdrawal every three months.

The risk of the principal protected investment deposit is that in case during each of 12 quarters the indexes fall or remain below the set mark its return may equal to zero at the maturity.

The minimum amount of the Basketball Deposit Plan is LTL 1000. The term deposit may be placed in Litas or Euro and the investment deposit in Litas only. The Basketball Deposit Plan can be concluded until 27 August (inclusive).

Last year, when DnB NORD Bank, that has been the sponsor of the National Team for 7 successive years, offered the possibility of linking interest with the victories in the European Basketball Championship in Poland, the clients placed 45 million Litas to the Basketball Deposit.

The magazine noted that although hopes that emerging Europe could escape the worst of the crisis were dashed during the course of last year, the best of the region’s banks nonetheless demonstrated that with a keen eye on risk management, a focus on liquidity and capital adequacy, and the drive to meet customers’ changing needs in the downturn, success can still be achieved.

„Even in difficult times it is important to maintain positive attitude to the customers. We have to understand their needs, advise in the most objective way and offer the best possible solutions even in cases they might be painful. We should not forget the customers – they are the ones whom we should concentrate all our efforts on. And the recognition clearly shows that highly motivated and professional colleagues of our bank has this understanding in their hearts“ says the Chairman and of the Management Board and the CEO of DnB NORD Bankas Werner Schilli.

Commenting on DnB NORD Bankas the magazine said that despite Lithuania‘s sharp GDP decline, the bank was one of the few banks in the local industry to report an increased income growth that at the same time was coupled with 10 percent drop in operating costs.

„The bank dealt with downturn by pursuing innovation and using its risk management processes to exploit emerging business opportunities such as debt and the Baltic currency derivatives markets. Supported by particularly strong commission income from intermediation in trading with securities, derivatives and foreign currency, its income rose 15.9 pct year on year,“ the magazine said in a comment.

Another important highlight was the bank’s active participation on the local debt securities market with DnB NORD Bankas being prime underwriter of debt securities issued by the Lithuanian government and also with international banks co-leading of international placements of Lithuanian sovereign bonds.

AB DnB NORD Bankas is a member of DnB NORD banking group which was established by the Norway’s largest bank DnB NOR and North Germany’s largest bank NORD/LB.

Excellent quality of the preparation and forwarding of the payment orders ensures the funds of DnB NORD Bankas customer reach the beneficiary fast and safe.

“Congratulations and thank you for your excellence in STP. Deutsche Bank strongly values its long standing and productive relationship with DnB NORD Bankas, and we look forward to working together in 2010,” said Paul E. Camp, Managing Director of Global Transaction Unit in Deutsche Bank AG in a letter to DnB NORD Bankas.

Deutsche Bank AG is the main correspondent bank of DnB NORD Bankas for international settlements in Euro. About 70 percent of the total international transactions of DnB NORD Bankas customers in single European currency are performed through Deutsche Bank and this flow is increasing every year.

It is an accurately planned DnB NORD Bankas investment banking development stage with no analogues across the Baltic banking market as it provides a comprehensive range of financial instruments at one spot, offers customers to manage their investment and financial instruments’ portfolio at a convenient time and from any place around the world and at the same time benefit from competitive advantage using the service of the local bank.

"We know that some investors already now are using services of foreign mediators since they have been unsatisfied with the fees and scope of the services provided by the local financial mediators. However in case of the services provided by the foreign mediators the expenses for making payment orders to foreign financial institutions are relatively high. From now on the investors will receive equivalent services via the local bank using DnB NORD Trade™ platform", - said Artūras Kampanas, Head of the Financial Products Sales Unit of DnB NORD Bankas.

DnB NORD Trade™ platform allows private investors and enterprises trading in major global Stock Exchanges (New York, London, Frankfurt, Tokyo, etc.), and directly investing into exchange-traded funds (ETF) on-line. The investors will also be provided with the possibility of trading currencies and entering into contracts for difference (CFD). The investors will be able to trade energy, agricultural commodities future contracts. Here the investors will also find the hottest market news influencing prices and technical analysis. The process for conclusion of transactions and submission of orders is fully automated.

DnB NORD Trade™ platform is more democratic in respect to small investors as it provides them with the same possibilities which were previously accessed only by institutional clients and market professionals. One of the key advantages of the platform is considerably lower mediation fees. For instance, one will be able to acquire stocks or funds that now are becoming increasingly popular and traded on the major global stock exchanges directly by paying to the bank a 0.1 percent acquisition fee. It is at least five times cheaper compared with the existing alternatives in the banking financial mediation market.

According to A. Kampanas, the market professionals will find DnB NORD Trade attractive in terms of a wide range of possibilities of using leverage. In this case for the investor trading in stock contracts for difference it will be sufficient to have a tenth of own funds and when trading in main currencies - two percent. Until now financial mediators, as a rule, required a minimum 30 percent own share for trade in stock in Lithuania.

This service is not of the least importance to the Lithuanian companies dealing on international markets and seeking to hedge against fluctuations in exchange rates or commodity prices.

Please be informed in advance that on 11 May 2010 from 2 a.m. to 8 a.m. DnB NORD Bankas will be upgrading the payment card authorization system. Due to that temporary disturbances are possible in making card transactions and using ATMs. We are sorry for any inconvenience caused. For more information please contact us at 1608 or 8 5 2393444.

The quarter before AB DnB NORD Bankas recorded LTL 164.4 million net loss after making LTL 194 in special provisions.

"During the first three months of the year the level of provisions set aside on overdue loans was the lowest since the start of 2009 and that gives us some ground for cautious optimism. However, with economic recovery pace shy and credit risk to individuals persisting due to continuously high unemployment rate, we believe it is too early to speak about turnaround in the credit market, particularly taking into account a delayed effects of economic downturn on the loan portfolio quality. Therefore we will continue focussing on building strong relationships with our customers and work closely together to develop the best possible solutions in order to be ready for the next sustained economic growth phase," - said Werner Schilli, the president and the chairman of the management board of AB DnB NORD Bankas.

Due to the constant focus on further improvement of operating efficiency and productivity AB DnB NORD Bankas first-quarter operating expenses fell 4.3 percent year-on-year to LTL 40.7 million. That helped us to ease the impact of declining income that totalled LTL 77.9 million in the first three months of 2010, on the first quarter financial result.

With total loans worth LTL 722 million extended in the first quarter of 2010, of which LTL 632 million were loans to businesses, AB DnB NORD Bankas net loan portfolio made LTL 9.8 billion as at the end of March. Due to the credit volume extended last year decreasing and special provisions made, the bank's net loan portfolio eased by 5.2 percent during the first three months of the year. Lending to individuals was easing at a slower pace compared to businesses, as small and medium size businesses continued to adapt to the negative impact of weak domestic consumption and slow recovery of exports.

With an increasing number of customers and funds on corporate deposit accounts, the bank’s deposit portfolio rose by 11.3 percent up to LTL 3.8 billion in the first three months of 2010. In line with implementation of the bank’s customer promise to be a financial guide and a rising number of customers who choose DnB NORD as their home bank, the number of individual and corporate customers rose by nine thousand in the first quarter to 680 thousand.

Taking into account the positive developments in the country's economic and financial sector the international ratings agency Fitch Ratings affirmed AB DnB NORD Bankas high long-term borrowing rating at “A”, revising its outlook to stable from negative. This rating assigned to the bank is at the country’s ceiling set by the agency.

Due to proper risk management AB DnB NORD Bankas met all prudential requirements of the Bank of Lithuania.

"This is an entirely new project which offers a great advantage to farmers as they can receive interest-free financing with no property collateral since the credit is backed by "Žemės ūkio paskolų garantijų fondas" (Agricultural Loans Guarantee Fund) guarantees. Last year we pioneered the market offering express credits to farmers for working capital and today we have no doubts that the joint offer of DnB NORD Bankas and "Litagros prekyba" will be appreciated by farmers complementing our financial service package designed to the needs of this sector," - said Evaldas Ruzgys, Director of DnB NORD Bankas' Product Development Department.

According to E. Ruzgys, "Litagros prekyba" sells products necessary to grow agricultural products and farmers often need working capital to purchase them. Therefore, the bank will grant financing to purchase fertilisers, seeds and pesticides from "Litagros prekyba" when the deal tops LTL 50 000.

Credits will be issued with up to one year's maturity to be repaid in a lump sum upon expiry of the agreement. "Litagros prekyba" shall pay all amounts due to the bank by the client and shall also cover the up-front fees under the cooperation agreement  of DnB NORD Bankas and "Litagros prekyba".

Farmers and agricultural companies are offered various credit ans savings products products of DnB NORD Bankas designed to corporate clients. Before financing is provided, the bank evaluates each client's financial situation and business specifics and guides them from situations to avoid the loan tuning into bad debt burden to customer.

DnB NORD Bankas has always paid much attention to financing agricultural sector. According to the data provided by UAB "Žemės ūkio paskolų garantijų fondas", within the first quarter of 2010 DnB NORD Bankas issued the highest number of credits with guarantees to farmers and rural businessmen (28 percent of overall credits issued with guarantee).

AB DnB NORD Bankas is a universal commercial bank that provides comprehensive range of banking services to individual and corporate customers. AB DnB NORD Bankas is a member of Denmark-based DnB NORD banking group which was established by the Norway’s largest bank DnB NOR ASA and North Germany’s largest bank Norddeutsche Landesbank Girozentrale (NORD/LB).

Visitors to DnB NORD Housing Fair will be offered a possibility to visit several new construction objects pre-selected by the organisers in Vilnius, Kaunas, Klaipėda and Mažeikiai. According to the organisers, considering the clients’ wishes, more medium class apartments were selected besides economic class objects.

„The first fair went beyond our expectations. We realised that people want to see and compare what is going on in the real estate market first-hand, and to get prompt consulting on whether a particular purchase corresponds to their financial possibilities. Besides, not only clients’ interest is growing but the number of deals in increasing, too. The trends of January and February showed that currently transactions in most cases are made by young families purchasing two-three room apartments”, - says Gediminas Jankauskas, director of DnB NORD Būstas.

Real estate agents and the bank‘s representatives will meet the visitors in all DnB NORD Housing Fair objects. Visitors will be offered comprehensive information on particular housing, and will be able to see available apartments, assess the surrounding infrastructure, and compare several projects. The bank‘s representatives will offer free consulting on credit terms.

According to the data from the Centre of Registers, 2,759 residential property transactions were registered within the first two months this year in Lithuania which is 15% more compared to the same period a year ago.

The second DnB NORD Housing Fair is open on Saturday, 10th April, at 11.00-15.00.

More information about the Housing Fair and particular objects is available at www.bustomuge.lt

“Opening of a new banking outlet despite a sharp economic downturn in the country, clearly indicates that DnB NORD bankas has full confidence in future business successful in Elektrėnai. We have long term plans here,” – said Werner Schilli the president and the chairman of the management board of DnB NORD Bankas.

For customers willing to use on-line banking a modern self-service terminal is available right there. The outlet will also have an ATM operating 24 hours per day. DnB NORD banking outlet is situated in a busy and business-friendly location of the town – a shopping and entertainment centre (at Draugystės 13). Access to the Bank is convenient with a free of charge parking lot nearby.

The new outlet of the Bank meets all requirements raised for contemporary banking. Customers will receive all banking services, i.e. to open an account, execute money transfers, receive a mortgage or consumer credit, sign an insurance contract, become AB DnB NORD Bankas’ on-line banking user and receive investment or financial advice. The new outlet in Elektrėnai will be open for service from 8.00 till 17.00.

It has already become a nice tradition that DnB NORD Bankas offers very attractive terms to individual and corporate customers on the occasion of opening a new outlet. Elektrėnai is no exclusion. So the outlet manager kindly invited the citizens of Elektrėnai to actively use banking services of the Bank having the network of 85 banking outlets across Lithuania.

AB DnB NORD Bankas is a universal commercial bank providing banking services to individual and corporate customers. The bank is part of Denmark-based DnB NORD banking group which was established by the Norway’s largest bank DnB NOR ASA and North Germany’s largest bank Norddeutsche Landesbank Girozentrale (NORD/LB).

The revision of DnB NORD Bankas’ rating outlook follows Fitch’s upgrade of Lithuania’s sovereign rating (BBB) outlook to stable from negative.

“We are pleased that with Lithuania’s economy demonstrating early signs of stabilization the affirmed high creditworthiness ratings of DnB NORD Bankas allow us to continue offering our customers savings, investment and lending services on very competitive terms,“ said Werner Schilli, the president of and the chairman of the management board of AB DnB NORD Bankas.

Fitch Ratings also affirmed AB DnB NORD Bankas short term borrowing rating F1, individual rating „D/E“ and the support rating „1“.

AB DnB NORD Bankas is a universal commercial bank that is part of international DnB NORD banking family setup by the Norway‘s largest financial institution DnB NOR and North Germany‘s largest bank NORD/LB.

Visitors of DnB NORD Housing Fair will be offered a possibility to visit several residential blocks of houses in Vilnius, Kaunas, Klaipėda and Mažeikiai with over 700 apartments available for acquisition. According to the organisers, the fair should attract young families since the offered residential objects were selected based because of convenient location with developed infrastructure and competitive prices.

Real estate agents and the bank‘s representatives will meet the visitors in all DnB NORD Housing Fair objects. Visitors will offered comprehensive information on particular housing, and compare several different projects on the very same day. The bank‘s representatives will offer free consulting on credit terms.

„About 40 percent decline in real estate prices seen over the past few years clearly reignited the interest of potential home buyers late last year. And we opted to organize this fair to offer the possibility for families to examine and compare several different projects during the weekend. In DnB NORD Housing Fair we chose to present the housing characterised by really competitive price to quality ratio. The choice is wide, especially in Vilnius“, – says Gediminas Jankauskas, director of DnB NORD Būstas.

„Buying an apartment is one of the most important decisions in every family’s life and we do not want this decision to be disappointing. Therefore, visitors to the fair will be able to find answers not only to such important questions as expected heating or administration fees, surrounding infrastructure or communications but also consult the bank’s specialists to measure their wish in view of financial possibilities of the family “, – says Lijana Žmoginaitė, Manager of Sales Management Department, DnB NORD Bankas.

For more information about the fair and particular objects please visit www.bustomuge.lt

When selecting PZU Lietuva insurer on DnB NORD internet banking link „E-draudimas“, the bank’s customers will be granted a 15 percent discount on compulsory third party motor liability insurance, travel insurance or accident insurance. The link also offers the possibility for DnB NORD Bankas customers to check the status of the insurance agreements, pay regular property insurance premiums or inform the insurer on the accident and follow claim settlement process without leaving home.

DnB NORD Bankas, which pays prime attention to convenience, functionality and user-friendliness of its e-banking system intends to expand its list of insurance companies that offer services online.

DnB NORD customers are already welcome to place deposits, order payment cards, submit applications for consumer loans, and handle their investment portfolio on DnB NORD Internet Bank.

“The recent bull trend in the Baltic markets lifted the liquidity significantly and as a result, investors are looking for a bigger leverage. Therefore we decided to increase the initial margin ratio to 70 percent from previous 50 percent that provides triple leverage and offering more opportunities for investors to earn more in a rising market,” says Mindaugas Tutlys, Manager of DnB NORD Bankas’ Capital Markets Unit.

In a repo deal the client borrows funds by temporarily selling securities to the bank and repurchasing the same securities for a pre-agreed price in the future. The loan amount depends on the market price of the financial instrument and the initial margin ratio set by the bank.

In bull markets repo deals are frequently used as financial leverage enabling investors to boost the yield of their portfolio. Because of the higher market risk inherent in such deals, AB DnB NORD Bankas offers this service to advanced investors only.

AB DnB NORD Bankas is the only bank in the local market which offers repo deals online. As a result of such online service, clients can respond fast to market swings and make appropriate investment decisions. Using the same on-line platform clients can trade securities online at particularly favourable commission fees. Information about the fees and interest rates for repo deals are presented on the web page www.dnbnord.lt

AB DnB NORD Bankas is a universal commercial bank that provides comprehensive range of banking services to individual and corporate customers. The bank is part of Denmark-based DnB NORD banking group that was established by the Norway’s largest bank DnB NOR ASA and North Germany’s largest bank Norddeutsche Landesbank Girozentrale (NORD/LB).

According to DnB NORD Bank‘as Product Development Department Manager Evaldas Ruzgys, the updated website reflects the bank’s consistent efforts to increase functionality, clarity, convenience, mobile banking and customer service. These criteria were evaluated by the Metasite Business Solutions which advanced DnB NORD Bankas in the ranking from the 6th place to the 1st position in 2009 thus demonstrating the biggest qualitative leap in electronic banking among the country‘s banks.  

“The decision to update the bank‘s website design is an important step made in the right time to improve customer service quality. With an increasing number of customers who choose DnB NORD as their home bank, we attach particular importance to e-banking services in order to meet the current needs of individual and corporate customers and we are ready to make further investments in functionality of e-banking channels and our service range,” – says Evaldas Ruzgys, Product Development Department Manager of DnB NORD Bankas.

The white colour dominates the website of new design instead of the previous bleu background.  A lot of attention is paid to the website convenience and functionality: the main vertical menu becomes horizontal; the main contacts and the bank‘s special offers are placed on the front page and a new column is inserted under useful information containing tools and information for private and corporate customers. The front page presents three columns: latest information providing latest messages, news and announcements.

DnB NORD Bankas is part of Denmark-based DnB NORD banking group which was established by the Norway’s largest bank DnB NOR ASA and North Germany’s largest bank Norddeutsche Landesbank Girozentrale (NORD/LB).

„We developed the first card of the kind for the Lithuanian market taking into consideration the growing consumer demand for gift cards without imposed restriction to spend the money in one particular catering or retail network. DnB NORD card is a gift that gives a freedom of choice. I believe this is a great advantage of our gift card”, said Evaldas Ruzgys, the head of DnB NORD bankas Product development department.

Attractively designed DnB NORD gift card has the usual functionality features of a typical Maestro debit payment card with no card holder’s name and surname on it. The recipient of the card confirms his identity by signature and the unique PIN code extended thereto together with the card.

With validity period of up to six months DnB NORD gift card may be bought by individuals aged over 18 or legal entities in any outlet of the bank. The maximum amount debited or transferred to the card is up to LTL 500 or EUR 150. The gift card is charged LTL 5.

The funds in DnB NORD gift card account may be used for making multiple payments and the account balance can always be checked in ATMs.

When buyers of the bank’s gift card will also be offered a discount coupon for using other services of DnB NORD Bankas.

„Traditionally, the country’s citizens working abroad come back to their home country before Christmas and they exchange larger volume of foreign currency, therefore for the fifth year running DnB NORD Bankas offers them a great opportunity to exchange cash Great Britain’s pounds, Swedish, Norwegian and Danish krones on better rates,” says Artūras Kampanas, Manager of DnB NORD Bank’s Financial Product Sales Unit.

DnB NORD Bankas’ practice shows that over the past three years cash exchange turnover in Lithuania in December increases on average 27 percent month-on-month.

AB DnB NORD Bankas that provides comprehensive range of financial services to individual and corporate customers is part of Denmark-based DnB NORD banking group setup by the Norway’s largest bank DnB NOR ASA and North Germany’s largest bank Norddeutsche Landesbank Girozentrale (NORD/LB).

During the placement, demand for these one year 13.5% notes exceeded the supply by 40%.

„We are pleased that Societe Generale has mandated DnB NORD Bank that has strong presence in the Baltic debt markets to co-lead its note issue.“, said Andrius Načajus, head of Investment Banking at DnB NORD Bankas.

AB DnB NORD Bankas will provide secondary liquidity for these notes.

This year AB DnB NORD Bankas, together with Citi, HSBC, RBS and CrediSuisse, has co-led 500 mln EUR and 1.5 bln USD international placements of Lithuanian Government bonds. The bank has also solely underwrote 12 euro denominated and three Estonian kroon denominated tranches of Lithuanian Government notes with total nominal value of 270 mln. EUR.

AB DnB NORD Bank has issued 108 tranches of equity linked notes, 13 of which has been placed in Latvia. Bank‘s debt instruments are being traded on Vilnius and Riga stock exchanges.

¹⁾ end of period

Please download full edition of Baltic Rim Economies:Growth and Constrains 2010 from DnB NORD Bankas’ website www.dnbnord.lt/publications.

DnB NORD Barometer also noted that fewer were reporting reductions in their salary, when compared to June. In September 19 percent of those surveyed indicated a decline in their household income, while 79 percent said that their income remained stable over the last month, and only 1 percent indicated a growth in their household income. The opinion poll carried out three months ago revealed 75 percent of inhabitants with a stable income, while 22 percent of respondents indicated a declining income.

“One possible explanation for the increasing number of parents saving for their children’s future could be the ongoing education reform. Obviously, in these times of economic recession, many parents may find it hard to allocate money for these sorts of savings, explaining why the total number of individuals who make regular savings for the child future purposes remains low,” says Indrė Genytė-Pikčienė, Senior Analyst with DnB NORD Bankas Economic Research Group.

According to the DnB NORD Barometer, the level of savings for a child’s future intensifies around the child’s 7th birthday, with further intensification of those putting aside money when the child is 10, and again after the child’s 15th birthday. Most frequently these savings come from normal disposable income (68 percent), with 19 percent of the respondents indicating they have taken out children’s endowment insurance.

Compared to DnB NORD Barometer results received in June, the number of individuals making regular money transfers to an account for their children’s future has increased from 6 to 11 percent. Only 8 percent of those surveyed indicated their child holds a payment card account whereto a certain amount is transferred on a regular basis.

The recession is impacting the amount parents are spending on their children, with 29 percent indicating they have cut down on these expenses ¹, and 11 percent admitting they reduced the amount they put aside for their children’s future. However, compared to the DnB NORD Barometer data for June, fewer respondents reduced expenses for entertainment for their children (44 percent, while in June the number accounted for 54 percent). The number of parents who increased spending on their children has grown from 10 to 17 percent.

“Both the opinion poll and the data of the Statistics Department reflect the increasing expectations of individuals during the recent month. However, better estimations of the future should not diminish the individuals’ precaution in planning their family budgets as it is still recommended to be conservative. It is obvious that the risk of unemployment is not going to decrease in the coming months,” says Indrė Genytė-Pikčienė.

DnB NORD Barometer is based on research conducted by Spinter Tyrimai, which surveyed 1007 residents of Lithuania, aged 18-75.

¹ i.e. for clothing, food, school supplies, etc.

From October 22 AB DnB NORD Bankas shall pay by 0.2 percentage point higher rates in litas, euros and dollars for long time deposits on average, e.g. upon placing years time deposit in litas the annual interest will amount to 6.8 percent. The interest rate for deposits in litas for short time deposit have decreased average 0,4 percentage.

AB DnB NORD Bankas pays 0.25 percentage point premium on standard rates for deposits placed via Internet, therefore the annual interest for example one years time deposit in litas will increase up to 7,05 percent.

See more details on “Deposit plan 3, 6, 12” saving program to individuals (click here). By saving funds under this program you will earn up to 2 percentage points higher interest compared to the standard time deposit.

Customer deposits held within AB DnB NORD Bankas are secured by the state company Deposit and Investment Insurance in accordance with the Law on Insurance of Deposits and Liabilities to Investors of the Republic of Lithuania.

DnB NORD Bankas advanced by five grades in the ranking within a year - from the 6th place in 2008 to the 1st in 2009. The research was carried out according to five criteria: functionality, clarity, convenience, mobile banking and customer service.

“The biggest impact for the high evaluation of DnB NORD Bankas was achieved because of our fast response to customers’ requests and the increase in functionality of our E-Banking. In the two categories DnB NORD Bankas recorded 18 and 11 percent year-on-year improvement accordingly. That evidently shows that our strategic initiative to be financial guides to our customers is becoming a very important part of our everyday work,” Werner Schilli, the president of DnB NORD Bankas, said.

According to Werner Schilli, it is intended to give even more attention to the functionality, clarity and convenience of DnB NORD Bankas E-Banking system so that the close relations with customers were maintained and they would choose DnB NORD Bankas as their home bank.

Metasite Business Solutions research all the retail banks in Lithuania. Services of the banks were analyzed using comparative data analysis.
AB DnB NORD Bankas is a universal commercial bank that provides comprehensive range of banking services to individual and corporate customers. The bank is part of Denmark-based DnB NORD banking group which was established by the Norway’s largest bank DnB NOR ASA and North Germany’s largest bank Norddeutsche Landesbank Girozentrale (NORD/LB).

Starting October 1 AB DnB NORD Bankas shall pay by 0.18 percentage point higher rates on litas time deposits on average, e.g. upon placing nine-months time deposit in litas the annual interest will amount to 6.65 percent. The interest for deposits in euros and US dollars remain unchanged.

AB DnB NORD Bankas pays 0.25 percentage point premium on standard rates for deposits placed via Internet, therefore the annual interest for example nine-months time deposit in litas will increase up to 6.90 percent.

See more details on “Deposit plan 3, 6, 12” saving program to individuals. By saving funds under this program you will earn up to 2 percentage points higher interest compared to the standard time deposit.

Customer deposits held within AB DnB NORD Bankas are secured by the state company Deposit and Investment Insurance in accordance with the Law on Insurance of Deposits and Liabilities to Investors of the Republic of Lithuania.

Morningstar is a provider of independent investment research over 260.000 financial offers which evaluates funds based on their performance, investment portfolio and costs. A five-star rating is assigned to the best funds in their category.

„The money market fund attracts most investments from corporate or private customers who have temporarily free funds which they might need in the nearest future. They choose a money fund since the likely return is higher than that on short-term deposits or current account and the fund units may be cashed on the very same working day,“ says Naglis Paičius, Manager of DnB NORD Money Fund.

The assets managed by DnB NORD Money Market Fund were running at LTL 25 million as at the end of September. The yield per fund‘s unit value accounted for 5.7 percent over the past 12 months.

Aiming to ensure a consistent and stable growth of the fund value DnB NORD Money Market Fund targets investments at short-term governmental, bank and corporate bonds and deposits. It is a minor risk investment fund with a concept of avoiding currency risk; therefore most investments are in euro and litas.
DnB NORD Investicijų Valdymas, ranked third in the country’s asset management market, is currently managing three 2nd pillar pension funds, two 3rd pillar pension funds, and three investment funds.
UAB DnB NORD Investicijų Valdymas is part of DnB NORD financial group setup by the Norway‘s largest financial institution DnB NOR and North Germany‘s largest bank NORD/LB.

Starting September 14th AB DnB NORD Bankas shall pay by 0.8 percentage point lower rates on litas time deposits on average, therefore, e.g. upon placing six-months term deposit in litas the annual interest will amount to 6.4 percent, while one-year term deposits in litas will generate 6.6 percent annual interest.

The interest for deposits in euros shall decrease by average 0.4 percentage point, term deposits in US dollars approximately 0.3 percentage point lower rates.
AB DnB NORD Bankas pays 0.25 percentage point premium on standard rates for deposits placed via Internet, therefore the annual interest for e.g. one-year time deposit in litas will increase up to 6.85 percent.

See more details on “Deposit plan 3, 6, 12” saving program to individuals. By saving funds under this program you will earn up to 2 percentage points higher interest compared to a standard term deposit agreement. For more information click here.
Customer deposits held within AB DnB NORD Bankas are secured by the state company “Deposit and Investment Insurance” in accordance with the Law on Insurance of Deposits and Liabilities to Investors of the Republic of Lithuania.

Those students who are not financed by the State will be eligible for the government backed credits as provided in the Law on Science and Studies. The contractual conditions stipulate that AB DnB NORD Bankas’ credits will be available in Litas or Euro and their interest will be linked to 3-month VILIBOR or EURIBOR.

“We are ready to grant the credits once the list of eligible students is drawn by the Lithuanian State Science and Studies Foundation. We expect that first student loans will be extended already in October,” – says Evaldas Ruzgys, Manager of AB DnB NORD Bankas Product development department.

Those students who are willing to take a credit backed by the government guarantees will have to fill in the set-form application on the website of the Lithuanian State Science and Studies Foundation www.vmsfondas.lt. Having reviewed applications received, the Fund will draw up a list of students eligible for credits with government support and the students eligible will be welcome to apply to AB DnB NORD Bankas for a credit.

Under the student’s application AB DnB NORD Bankas’ credit for financing studies will be paid out in two tranches – the first one for autumn semester not later than within three days after signing of the agreement, the second - for spring semester- no later than by 15 March of the study-year. The bank will transfer money to an account of the science and studies institution. A credit to cover living expenses will be disbursed in equal monthly instalments to the student’s personal account. For part-time studies abroad the bank will extend the entire credit by transfer to the beneficiary’s personal account. Students will be entitled to refuse to draw down a full credit or its any part at no additional cost.

The credit shall be extend in all AB DnB NORD Bankas outlets across the country. The agreement also provides that credit interest will be paid from the day of making a credit available, whereas the principal amount will be due after a year from the end, termination of studies or exclusion from the study enrolment list. Repayment of the entire loan will be due no later than in 15 years.

Under this financial engineering instrument of EU structural funds a small or medium-size enterprise shall be eligible for up to LTL 1.5 million credit from AKF fund. AKF shall fund up to 75 percent of the credit while AB DnB NORD Bankas will additionally allocate at least one-fourth of the bank’s funds to such an investment project. The contractual conditions stipulate that AB DnB NORD Bankas’ shall apply up to 3.1 percent margin for such a loan to be added to a 3-month VILIBOR rate.

This is the second agreement signed by AB DnB NORD Bankas with INVEGA this month. Under the agreement signed last week AB DnB NORD Bankas is entitled to provide credits to business backed with INVEGA guarantees, including loans to large companies facing temporary financial difficulties due to sharp economic downturn.

“We expect the European Commission to take into account that in the environment of economic slowdown Lithuanian businesses feel a lack of working capital. Then, in cooperation with INVEGA, we will be able to offer more favourable rates not only for credits extended to finance investment projects, but also for new credits lines,” – said Evaldas Ruzgys, Manager of Product Development Department of AB DnB NORD Bankas.

At the end of June the corporate portfolio of AB DnB NORD Bankas was worth of LTL 5.7 billion.

Having the highest long-term sovereign rating ever assigned by the rating agency “FitchRatings” to Lithuanian commercial banks (long-term IDR affirmed at A) AB DnB NORD Bankas is part of DnB NORD banking group established by the largest Norway’s bank DnB NOR (51 percent stake, long-term IDR at AA- from “Standard & Poor's”) and the largest North Germany’s bank NORD/LB (49 percent stake, long-term IDR at A from “FitchRatings”).

The very first victory of the national team in the championship will lift one year’s LTL Basketball Deposit interest by 0.2 percentage point the following working day. The victory premium that depends on the deposit term and currency will be paid on top of the effective term deposit rates. This year corporate customers will also be eligible to place their savings on the Basketball Deposit™. In case the Basketball Deposit™ is made through the Internet, DnB NORD Bankas will pay an additional premium of 0.25 percentage point.

“The Lithuanian National squad may play up to nine games in the championship, therefore it makes an excellent opportunity to DnB NORD Bankas customers not only to celebrate the basketball victories but also enjoy high return on their deposits,” Deividas Raipa, Manager of DnB NORD Bankas Retail Banking, said.

Last year, when DnB NORD Bankas offered an opportunity to link the deposit rates with victories of the Lithuanian Olympic squad in Peking, customers placed a record LTL 60 million to the Basketball Deposit. Lithuania’s national basketball squad scored five victories then.

The basketball deposits are accepted in litas, euros and US dollars and can be placed through DnB NORD Bank’s internet banking system as well as at all DnB NORD outlets until the very start of the European Championship (6th September inclusive) for a term ranging from 6 to 12 months.

AB DnB NORD Bankas is part of DnB NORD banking group that was established by Norway’s largest bank DnB NOR and North Germany’s largest bank NORD/LB. DnB NORD Bankas runs three subsidiaries in Lithuania: asset management firm UAB DnB NORD Investicijų Valdymas, leasing arm UAB DnB NORD Lizingas and real estate brokerage UAB DnB NORD Būstas.

Starting from June 30, AB DnB NORD Bankas reduces deposit rates for medium-long term deposits by approximately 0.21 percentage point in LTL. Short term deposit rates (up to 6 months) are unchanged. For example, individual customers while placing time deposit in the branch in LTL for 3 months period will receive 7.30 percentage point annual interest.

Interest rates up to two-year-term denominated in Euro and US Dollar are reduced by respectively 0.23 and 0.20 percentage point.

For customers who place term deposits via DnB NORD Internet banking system the bank will pay its customers 0.25 percentage point premium on standard rates so, for example, the annual rates for popular one-year time deposits in LTL for individual customers will increase to 9.30 percent.

Deposits of customers held within AB DnB NORD Bankas are secured by the state company “Deposit and Investment Insurance” in accordance with the Law on Insurance of Deposits and Liabilities to Investors of the Republic of Lithuania.

“We are still coming to terms with this sad news regarding the great loss of a talented economist and great colleague – only last week we all had an opportunity to attend the publication’s Lithuanian Economic Outlook presentation prepared by the Economic Research Team led by Dr. Titarenko and again witness the tremendous success first hand. In sharing the pain and praying for strength, on behalf of all employees of the bank we would like to express our sincere condolences to his wife Dr. Jekaterina Titarenko, their daughter Aliona and the family members,” says Werner Schilli, the president and the chairman of management board of AB DnB NORD Bankas.

Interest rates in Euro and USD Dollar remain the same for both individual and corporate customers.

For customers who place term deposits via DnB NORD Internet banking system the bank will pay its customers 0.25 percentage point premium on standard rates so, for example, the annual rates for popular one-year time deposits for individual customers will increase to 8.60 percent.

Deposits of customers held within AB DnB NORD Bankas are secured by the state company “Deposit and Investment Insurance” in accordance with the Law on Insurance of Deposits and Liabilities to Investors of the Republic of Lithuania.

As at the end of March AB DnB NORD Bankas assets stood at LTL 12.8 billion, a 6.8 percent rise compared to the same period a year ago. As at the end of March the bank’s net loan portfolio stood at LTL 11.0 billion, a rise of 13.4 percent year-on-year. Compared to the previous quarter the bank’s net loan portfolio decreased by 2.2 percent, due to declining credit demand and a smaller number of projects that meet credit risk criteria. The bank signed credit contracts worth LTL 653 million litas during the first three months of the year.

As at the end of March, the savings and investments at AB DnB NORD Bankas stood at LTL 4.7 billion, of which issued debt securities amounted to LTL 984 million and customers‘deposits were LTL 3.7 billion. To offer its customers attractive investment options, the bank pioneered placement of government fixed rate debt securities worth EUR 145.5 million to the bank’s institutional and private investors.

Due to proper risk management AB DnB NORD Bankas met all prudential requirements of the Bank of Lithuania. To ensure further balanced growth the bank’s shareholders reinvested the 2008 net profit of LTL 70.7 million and have pledged to invest another LTL 71 million through the increase of the bank’s authorized share capital to LTL 656.7 million from LTL 591 million with an issue price set at LTL 125 per each newly issued share with nominal value of LTL 115.

AB DnB NORD Bankas, a part of DnB NORD financial group, a joint venture owned 51% Norway’s largest bank DnB NOR (Standard & Poor's long term AA- rating) and 49% by North Germany’s largest bank NORD/LB (FitchRatings long term A rating), maintained the highest creditworthiness rating among Lithuanian banks assigned by FitchRatings (long term A rating).

What people expect from banks today is financial services they understand as only one fourth of the residents polled stated they felt they understand financial options well enough to make right decision on their own. This was unveiled in the latest survey made by the market research company Spinter tyrimai upon AB DnB NORD bank’s request with the aim of better understanding the impact of the economic changes upon the behaviour of banking service users.

According to Werner Schilli, president and chairman of the management board of AB DnB NORD Bankas, it is obvious that namely during periods of economic downturn individual and corporate customers need financial guidance more than ever and they are looking for open and professional dialog.

“Therefore we launch a new strategic initiative - to become a financial guide to our customers. That means that from now on DnB NORD Bankas customer should first of all expect that he will be carefully listened to and offered several options according to individual financial circumstances. Having a clear understanding of advantages and disadvantages of each option the person then will to make a beneficial choice for today and the future. This is a long-term business initiative based on confidence and responsibility that is a must for each employee of the bank,” said Werner Schilli, the president and the chairman of the management board of AB DnB NORD Bankas.

DnB NORD Bankas began preparations for the implementation of the initiative some 10 months ago. An extensive research was carried out in order to understand what people expect from banks and what they miss mostly. The advantages and disadvantages of the bank’s products and services were reviewed critically. At the same time, staff training and “Mystery Shopping” visits were organised to develop the staff skills to behave accordingly and to feel responsible for the promise given to the customers. The investments to implement the initiative are estimated about two million litas.

„Our shareholders take a long-term view and that gives us a firm ground to continue investments in development of the new core banking system and further improvement of the whole business process to prepare for a new qualitative leap. Their support encourages us to undertake the required efforts on optimisation of the business processes. And our customers clearly tell us - we are ready to choose the bank that offers clear options for a fair price,” Werner Schilli said.

The Spinter tyrimai survey carried out in late January revealed that only 24 percent of residents feel they are understand financial services enough on their own and no guidance is necessary for them. However most (70 percent) of the respondents stated that they need banker’s consultation before making a decision as they either only partially understand the characteristics of financial services or do not understand them at all.

The bank that best meets the customers‘ expectations should not only listen to customer‘s needs but also provide simple and clear services, ensure low service fees, and offer practical solutions, the people polled said..

The survey results also indicated that most residents (38 percent) who need financial advice expect universal financial recommendations, 17 percent stated that they whish more guidance on saving and investing products, and 12 percent wanted advice on routine operations.

Most of the polled individuals named payment transactions as their most frequently used banking service. 60 percent of the respondents used the service within the recent 12 months. On-line banking was mentioned by 29 percent of the respondents, and currency exchange by 25 percent. 21 percent of the individuals said the banking service they used within the recent 12 months was deposit transaction, while a consumer loan, leasing services were used by 19 percent of the respondents.

The resident survey was carried out on 21-31 January this year. 1007 residents, aged 18-75, participated in the survey.

Notes shall be subscribed from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on 25th of February, 2009. The notes will be redeemed on 28th of February, 2012 (including).

Starting from February 4 AB DnB NORD Bankas will pay higher rates to individual customers for LTL time deposits longer than 1 year maturity. Interest rates with shorter than 4 months maturity will pay lower rates for term deposits. Individual customers while placing time deposit in the branch in LTL for 3, 6 or 12 months period will be offered 7.20, 7.85 and 8.40 percent of annual interest respectively.

For EUR and USD term deposits for individual customers interest rate will remain unchanged.

For customers who place term deposits via DnB NORD Internet banking system the bank will pay its customers 0.25 percentage point premium on standard rates so, for example, the annual rates for popular one-year time deposits will increase to 8.65 percent.

The shortest term to park deposit in AB DnB NORD Bankas is two days when using the bank’s internet banking system and 30 days when placing the deposit in the bank’s outlet.

Customer deposits held within AB DnB NORD Bankas are secured by the state company “Deposit and Investment Insurance” in accordance with the Law on Insurance of Deposits and Liabilities to Investors of the Republic of Lithuania.

Starting from January 27 AB DnB NORD Bankas will pay higher rates to individual customers for LTL time deposits longer than 3 months maturity. Interest rates with shorter than 3 months maturity will pay lower rates for term depostis. Individual customers while placing time deposit in the branch in LTL for 3, 6 or 12 months period will be offered 7.50, 7.85 and 8.25 percent of annual interest respectively.

Starting from January 27 to individual customers for term deposits in EUR will be paid an average of 0.3 percentage point lower interest rates. For USD term deposits interest rate will remain unchanged.

For customers who place term deposits via DnB NORD Internet banking system the bank will pay its customers 0.25 percentage point premium on standard rates so, for example, the annual rates for popular one-year time deposits will increase to 8.40 percent.

The shortest term to park deposit in AB DnB NORD Bankas is two days when using the bank’s internet banking system and 30 days when placing the deposit in the bank’s outlet.

Customer deposits held within AB DnB NORD Bankas are secured by the state company “Deposit and Investment Insurance” in accordance with the Law on Insurance of Deposits and Liabilities to Investors of the Republic of Lithuania.