OREANDA-NEWS. July 27, 2010. Bank SNORAS financial group was chosen as the best financial group in the Baltic States in 2010 (“Best Banking Group Baltics 2010”) by “World Finance”, one of the most influential international business magazines published in Great Britain, as well as by the users of www.worldfinance.com. This is the first award of this kind given by this publication to the banks operating in the Baltic States, reported the press-centre of Bank SNORAS.

“Bank SNORAS group is becoming a strong and significant regional financial group in the Baltic States which currently already manages three banks and is prominent in the European context. We rejoice over the evaluation of such calibre and over the fact that the Bank’s group was noticed and evaluated by professionals in the area of global finance. It is an important event in the history of the Bank and its group, which was developed in the course of 18 years, because the top level international recognition not only imparts meaning to our activity so far, but also demonstrates that we are executing our purposeful activity properly,” noted Raimondas Baranauskas, the President and Chairman of the Board of AB Bank SNORAS.

Bank SNORAS gained international recognition in 2006 too, when an international financial publication “The Banker” recognized Bank SNORAS as the best bank in Lithuania in 2006.

Financial groups that have submitted information on the main financial and activity indicators and have answered the questions about investments, technologies, innovations and marketing activity participated in the selection of “World Finance” nomination.

Alexander Redcliffe, editor-in-chief of “World Finance” magazine, which has over 120,000 readers, noted that the winner was determined by the results of the vote of portal users in the web portal – company heads or persons having the casting vote in the companies, who were taken from the magazine’s database of 40,000 persons, and by the information about the activity of Bank SNORAS during the last year, from 1 July 2009 till 1 July 2010, which impressed the committee – especially on the subject of the group’s financial indicators “in the midst of the economic recession” in 2009 as well as acquisitions in the sphere of investment banking.

According to the representatives of the magazine and the web portal, “World Finance” awards, which have been given to the companies since 2007, are meant to identify business branch leaders, individuals, teams and organisations which in the course of the year have made significant progress in their area and whose achievements create new standards and new practice in the world of finance and business. The main criteria whereby financial services providers in the Baltic States were evaluated were as follows: transparency with shareholders and stakeholders, financial disclosures (strength; size; soundness; profits; performance), solution and optimisation of bank's products & services, innovation and flexibility, leadership and geographical spread.

This year the best of “World Finance Awards” are selected in 16 different branch categories of economy, business and companies providing financial services. In the category of Banks and financial groups, awards were earned by 43 banks and 75 banking groups from over 110 states and regions in Europe and Asia.

In 2009, the assets of the group grew by LTL 580.6 million (7 per cent) and at the end of the year comprised LTL 9.032 billion. The deposit portfolio of the group during 2009 increased by LTL 629 million (9 per cent) and stood at LTL 7.380 billion. At the end of 2009, the group’s shareholders’ equity amounted to LTL 601 million. In the context of the market situation, the group completed the year 2009 with a relatively small LTL 44.1 million loss, which was mainly influenced by provisions expenses, which in 2009 amounted to LTL 146.8 million. Meanwhile, Bank SNORAS, the parent company of the financial group, last year earned 8.7 million profit. The Bank has been working profitably  during all 18 years of its activity.