(Bloomberg) -- Commerzbank AG will open an office in Lithuania to help the German lender expand in the Baltic region, in the first success in luring new lenders to enter the Baltic market.
The German bank plans to open the office in December in the country’s capital Vilnius, from where Commerzbank also plans to support clients doing business in Latvia and Estonia, a spokesman said in a statement to Bloomberg.
The Baltic countries are courting global lenders to help diversify a banking sector that’s dominated by Nordic banks Swedbank AB and SEB AB. Lithuania’s links with Germany are strengthening after the government of Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced it would expand its military deployment in the Baltic country.
Commerzbank said its move to open the Lithuanian office is part of a strategy to grow its business with German exporters. The lender’s International Corporates unit saw revenue increase 12% in the first six months of the year.
German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall AG, a Commerzbank client, signed a deal in June to invest €180 million ($200 million) to build a manufacturing plant for artillery rounds.
Latvian Finance Minister Arvils Aseradens said earlier this year that the decision by the Bundesbank, Germany’s central bank, to open an office in Latvia, “absolutely” helps attract foreign banks.
--With assistance from Aaron Eglitis and Milda Seputyte.
(Updates with context from third paragraph.)
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