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Home > Offshore Company > Offshore Bank Account > Bank in Latvia

Our company offers introduction services for opening corporate bank accounts in Latvia.

If you would like to open a personal offshore bank account, please contact our office.

About the Bank

This bank is the largest private bank by assets and first by profitability in Latvia. It offers a full range of banking and financial services to both domestic and international customers. Customers support is available in English, French, Russian and Latvian.

The bank was established in 1990. It has branches in Latvia, France, Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Romania and Ukraine.

Currently the bank has over EUR 1.6 billion in assets.

Banking Secrecy and Tax Treaties

Latvian authorities has no direct access to bank information. Court order is required to get such access.

Latvia has double tax treaties with 41 countries including Canada, UK, US and most EU countries. Such wide net of treaties creates valuable opportunities for international tax planning.

As a member of European Union Latvia exchanges information with other EU countries in accordance with the EU Savings Tax Directive. All Latvian banks must report to the Latvian tax authorities interest earned by individuals, who are residents of other EU countries. That information is passed to the tax authorities of those countries.

EU Savings Tax Directive is not applicable to the interest paid to legal entities, such as corporations, limited liability companies, trusts and foundations. Thus no information about legal entities is passed to the tax authorities.

Required Corporate Documents

Our company prepares all required corporate documents in accordance with the bank requirements.

Required Personal Documents

The bank requires the following personal documents from each account signatory:

• A copy of the valid passport or European Union country national identity card notarized and legalized with Apostille. Apostille legalization is not required for residents of EU, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Tajikistan, Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein.

• Evidence of residential address (an original utility bill, bank statement or credit card statement less than 3 months old with individual’s name and residential address).

• Specimen Signature Card signed by the signatories must also be notarized and legalized with Apostille. Apostille legalization is not required for residents of EU, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Tajikistan, Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein.

These documents are not required, when the account signatory visits our office or the bank in person with his passport and utility bill.

Personal Visit

Our clients, who use the bank introduction services are not required to visit the bank, when they visit our office for certification of personal documents.

Clients, who are not able to visit out office are required to visit the bank or one of its representative offices for opening bank account. A client may still open a bank account and delay his visit up to 3 months if he provides to the bank his notarized and Apostilled personal documents.

Initial Deposit

No initial deposit is required.

Minimum Balance

No minimum balance is required.

Online Banking

The bank offers advanced online banking including:

• Access to account balances and account transactions

• Transfer money between accounts in the same bank

• International wire transfer payments. No limit for the maximum amount of incoming and outgoing transfers.

Clients may also work with their accounts on the go. The bank offers applications for iPhone, iPad and iPod, which allow clients to see history of transactions and make some limited payments in a secure way.

Clients have access to their accounts 24/7.

Debit and Credit Cards

The bank offers debit cards Visa and MasterCard. Debit card account is linked to the clients bank account. As a result, clients have the following advantages:

• 24/7 access to funds in any place of the world

• worldwide acceptance for any online or in store purchases

• worldwide cash withdraw up to EUR 5,000 per day.

There are no credit limit and security deposit for debit cards. As soon as a client has a positive balance on his credit card account, he may use the card.

The bank also provides credit cards Visa, MasterCard and American Express. Security deposit is required.

The credit cards come without credit limit, meaning that client can only spend amount transferred to the card account. Client can request a credit limit against an extra deposit placed with the bank.

Time Required

The bank usually opens accounts in 2 business days for clients, who visit its offices or our office in person.

If you opted not to visit, the bank usually opens a corporate account in one week after receiving completed application forms, corporate and personal documents and verification of clients personal documents and business information.

Currencies

The bank opens multi currency accounts, which allow to operate in all major currencies through one bank account.

Bank Fees

Bank Account Fees:

• Maintenance fee payable monthly: EUR 10. If after the first 12 months average balance of account is less than EUR 25,000 or verage turnover (total amount of incoming payments) per month is less than EUR 50 000, the maintenance fee is EUR 50.

• International wire transfer fee

  • Inward payments: free of charge

  • Outward payments:

    • payment in USD: USD 15

    • payment in EUR: EUR 10

    • payment in GBP: EUR 20

    • payment in other major currencies: EUR 10

• Fee for the issue of a bank draft: 1 %, min LVL 6 (US$12)

• Internet banking monthly fee – EUR 10

• Bank's one time fee for opening a current account and initiation of Internet Banking:

  • EUR 150 - when a client visits the main bank office in Latvia

  • EUR 250 - when a client visits a bank office outside of Latvia.

Debit Card Fees:

• Issue fee: free of charge

• Annual fee: EUR 35

• Cash withdrawal: 2 %, min EUR 3.

Credit Card Fees:

• Issue fee: free of charge

• Annual fee: EUR 30

• Cash withdrawal: 2 %, min EUR 3.

Other Bank Services

The bank offers deposit accounts with interest rate up to 5% for EUR deposits and up to 4% for USD deposits; all types of Asset Management and Brokerage products.

The bank works and accepts all types of Letters of Credit and Bank Guarantees.

Feedback of Our Clients

Our company introduces its clients to the bank and constantly monitors clients experience with the bank's services.

The bank's new client acceptance rate is around 97%. About 3% of applications are declined due to inability clients to provide required personal documents or visit the bank's office within 3 months of account opening.

Our clients, who use this bank are satisfied by bank's services. Clients love banks online banking system. It is easy to learn, convenient and allows to initiate all required transactions with no problems. Clients also like multicurrency accounts, when the bank maintain one account for all currencies and charges fees for maintenance of one account only. The bank's ability to work with soft currencies including RUB, KZT, MDL, PLN, etc. creates excellent conditions for doing business in Eastern Europe.

Our company highly recommends this bank.