State-guaranteed compensation disbursement to ABLV Bank clients will be provided by Citadele Bank. Compensation will be available from Saturday, March 3rd until the 3rd of March 2023. To ensure a calm and convenient disbursement process for clients, Citadele invites ABLV Bank customers to apply for an appointment at the bank in advance.
Citadele Bank Chairman of the Board Guntis Beļavskis: “Latvian legislation stipulates the payment of state-guaranteed compensation, and, in the case of ABLV Bank, this involves several thousand local businesses and private clients who cannot currently access their money. Our experience and reputation in AML and compliance, as well as our previous experience and collaboration with the Deposit Guarantee Fund in providing state-guaranteed compensation will allow us to complete this task to a high quality.”
Citadele Bank will receive the money and depositors’ details from the Deposit Guarantee Fund.
“Our task is to ensure that the process of disbursing money to ABLV Bank clients is as convenient as possible. To achieve this, Citadele employees will be working on an increased schedule, including during weekends. At the same time, we will ensure that, during the disbursement period, all Citadele clients are served efficiently,” states G. Beļavskis.
Where to apply to receive state-guaranteed compensation
Local Latvian ABLV Bank depositors can apply for state-guaranteed compensation through Citadele’s online bank or in one of five bank branches in Riga and Jurmala.
Latvian residents and local busineses can apply to open a Citadele account in their most convenient Citadele branch throughout Latvia and subsequently apply for their compensation through internet banking. There are a total of 30 Citadele branches in Latvia. State-guaranteed payment will be transferred to any bank account indicated by the client.
Additionally, disbursement of state-guaranteed compensation will be provided at five Citadele branches which will stay open this weekend specifically for this purpose. These are: the “Citadele” branch (Riga, Republikas laukums 2A,) KAC “Skanste” (Riga, Skanstes iela 50,) KAC “Mols” (Riga, Krasta iela 46,) the “Laimdota” branch (Riga, Kr. Barona iela 20-1,) as well as the Jurmala branch (Jurmala, Jomas iela 30.) The working hours of these branches on the 3rd and 4th of March will be from 10:00 to 19:00.
Citadele is ready to keep these branches open next week even until 21:00 if necessary.
For clients’ convenience, we invite them to book an appointment at the bank ahead of time by calling the 24-hour phone number created specifically for this purpose: +371 67010076, or through Citadele’s website www.citadele.lv.
Meanwhile, international clients can receive their state-guaranteed compensation at the “Citadele” branch (Riga, Republikas laukums 2A.) International clients are also invited to book an appointment with the bank in advance by calling the 24-hour phone number, +371 67010076, or through Citadele’s website, www.citadele.lv.
Who can receive state-guaranteed compensation
In accordance with the Deposit Guarantee Law, ABLV Bank’s Latvian and international clients - private customers and legal persons - with deposits at ABLV Bank can receive state-guaranteed compensation. State-guaranteed compensation applies to all deposited funds - term deposits, current accounts, wage accounts, savings accounts, etc. (not including financial instrument accounts).
By law, guaranteed compensation is not issued:
- for deposits with which no transactions have been made in the past 2 years, and whose value is less than 10 Euro;
- for deposits linked with money laundering or recognised as laundered money;
- local governments whose annual budget is more than 500,000 Euro cannot receive compensation;
- credit institutions, financial institutions, insurance companies, private pension funds, investment management firms and investment broker companies.
Each depositor can receive compensation of up to 100,000 Euro - depending on how much was deposited in the specific client’s ABLV Bank accounts.
Those clients whose total deposit sum with ABLV Bank is more than the 100,000 Euro limit set by the state can submit their claims as creditors as part of the ABLV Bank liquidation process.
How to receive compensation
According to the contract with FCMC, money is payable to clients in one transaction.
State-guaranteed compensation can be issued via transfer to the client’s bank account at Citadele or any other bank.
For clients with deposits in ABLV Bank up to 1,000 Euro, compensation may also be paid in cash at the “Citadele” branch. However, Citadele encourages ABLV Bank depositors to collect their state-guaranteed compensation via transfer for security reasons.
What documents should be brought to the Citadele branch
Latvian clients - private customers with a passport/ID card issued in Latvia and legal persons registered in Latvia
Private customers: passport or personal identification (ID card)
Representative of a private customer: passport or personal identification (ID card), as well as a notarised power of attorney. Neither an internal Citadele Bank or ABLV Bank power of attorney is valid.
Legal persons:
- The passport or personal identification (ID card) of the person eligible to represent the legal entity
- If more than one person is jointly responsible for representing a legal person, then they must all together go to the bank.
International clients
Private customers: passport valid for travel into Latvia or personal identification (ID card) valid for travel into Latvia
Representatives of a private customer (with power of attorney):
- Notarised power of attorney
- Passport valid for travel into Latvia or personal identification issued by the Republic of Latvia Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs, or personal identification valid for travel into Latvia
Legal persons:
- Passport valid for travel into Latvia, or personal identification issued by the Republic of Latvia Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs, or personal identification valid for travel into Latvia of the person eligible to represent the legal entity
- Registration certificate, statutes (current edition) and certification of the rights to represent a legal person (for example: director’s appointment decree and/or notarised power of attorney)
- Document certifying the legal person’s active status
What currency the state-guaranteed compensation will be paid in
In accordance with the Deposit Guarantee law, money is to be disbursed in Euro. Deposits in other currencies will be calculated into Euro.
Citadele will receive an ABLV Bank client register from the FCMC which will show the clients’ information as well as how much must be paid to each one, and Citadele will not be responsible for making any more calculations or currency conversions.
Money from the Deposit Guarantee Fund will not be counted towards Citadele’s balance, therefore these funds are not binding and will in no way affect Citadele’s operations. Citadele is essentially an intermediary providing residents and businesses with money from the Deposit Guarantee Fund.
Where to ask questions
Anyone with any questions about where and how to receive compensation can contact Citadele bank 24 hours a day:
- by calling Citadele’s 24-hour Call Centre at +371 67010076,
- By messaging through Citadele’s internet bank.
If you have any questions on the amount of compensation or recognising a person as a depositor, please contact the FCMC. Phone number: +371 67774800, +371 67774801, and +371 67774831. In writing to fktk@fktk.lv. Address: Kungu iela 1, Riga, LV-1050.
About Citadele
Citadele is the third-largest bank in Latvia by number of clients. The bank’s shareholders are the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and an international group of investors with global experience in the banking sector. The Citadele Group is managed from Latvia with subsidiaries and branches in Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Switzerland. Citadele provides transactions and card payments, loans, deposits, investments, active management and leasing services, as well as a range of exclusive, unique products. In 2017 one of the leading customer service evaluation and improvement companies in Central and Eastern Europe, Dive, acknowledged Citadele as the bank with the best customer service in Latvia and Lithuania.