Nordea to acquire Kredyt Banks Lithuania operations

Nordea will acquire Kredyt Banks Lithuania operations and will thus expand its network and business volume in the countrys main cities. This acquisition is a continuation of Nordeas strategy to build up a branch network covering all the main cities in the Baltic Sea region. Nordea and Kredyt Bank S.A. have signed a framework agreement concerning the takeover of the operations of Kredyt Bank S.A. in Lithuania. Due to this agreement, Nordea expands from one head office with one branch in Vilnius to seven branches in the main cities of Kaunas, Klaipeda and Panevezys in Lithuania. The acquisition will be completed during the summer. Kredyt Bank S.A.s Lithuanian operations are a part of Kredyt Bank S.A. in Poland. It was the first foreign bank to be established in Lithuania and started its activities in 1997. It has six branches in Lithuania serving 2,700 customers, and its total assets amount to EUR 118 million (as of 1 May 2004). By the acquisition Nordea continues its strategy to build up a strong market position in the Baltic Sea region, ie Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Nordea has altogether 79 branches and 1,497 employees in Poland and the Baltic countries.