 Hansabank Group |
Hansabank is the largest financial institution in the Baltic States, comprising banking divisions in Estonia (Hansapank), Latvia (Hansabanka) and Lithuania (Hansabankas). Our most successful subsidiary Hansa Capital is the largest leasing and factoring company in the Baltic States and has its own affiliates in Latvia, Lithuania, Russia and the Ukraine.
For Hansabank Group, 1999 was the year of reassessing objectives, focusing on core activities and consolidating the Group's market positions. We completed the hitherto biggest integration of business organisations in Estonia, defined the mission and values of the new organisation by launching a revamped brand that reflects best the essence of a regional universal bank. From the operational side, we completed the integration of customer databases of former banks into a joint database. Despite the continuing recession, we ended the year with a record-high profit of EEK 815.0 million after the EEK 60.5 million loss in 1998.
We are the only financial group with a common pan-Baltic strategy and product range. However, it is the values behind the bank's strong brand name that provide us with the tool to achieve our greatest competitive advantage - an intimate understanding of our customers.
The European financial media noted our leadership position among the region's financial institutions last year in several instances. According to Euromoney, Hansabank was the best bank in Estonia in 1999, while Business Central Europe bestowed on our organisation the title of the best bank in the Baltic States.
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Since defining its new mission and strategy Hansabank is operating on a new development track. We in Hansabank believe that the position of the leading Baltic financial institution calls for quality, innovation and vitality. We have devoted much energy to re-positioning the Hansabank´s brand. Our new image introduced to the public in the spring of 1999 is modern and innovative as appropriate to the rapidly developing universal bank. These specific changes were crucial for refinding the sense of unity and corporate culture after the merger.
At the end of 1999 Hansabank's major shareholder Swedbank increased its holding in the bank to 52.6 per cent. We expect inclusion into Swedbank's consolidation group to improve Hansabank's rating and lower the cost of foreign funding. In 2000 we are planning to focus on the Latvian and Lithuanian markets where we see more growth potential. On the basis of expected developments in Latvia and Lithuania, we anticipate as high as 25 per cent growth in the business volumes.
Hansabank and its employees understand the responsibilities that come along with the position of the largest financial institution in the Baltic countries. We are continuously focusing our efforts on maximizing customer satisfaction while maintaining and increasing shareholder-value. |
