AI Magazine Issue 1 2017

Acquisition International - January 2017 27 No Stopping for Lithuania’s Fastest Growing Bank Work with international partners Direct collaboration with international institutions is another of Šiaulių Bankas’s strengths. Having built up such relationships, it is able to provide businesses with financing on advantageous terms. Working together with the European Investment Fund, Šiaulių Bankas ensures good terms of credit for SMEs and mid-cap companies. In 2016 the bank offered Lithuanian SMEs access to the ‘InnovFin’ facility, thanks to which financing opportunities for innovative companies have been expanded. Participation in Lithuania’s multi-apartment building renovation programme has been a big success for Šiaulių Bankas. The goal of the ambitious programme is to renovate Soviet-era apartment buildings all over the country and improve their energy efficiency. Partnering with the European Investment Bank, Šiaulių Bankas is the leading provider of finance for the programme, with a 60% share of this market. Ever better customer care Šiaulių Bankas has begun implementing a customer-focused strategy. In 2015 it introduced general standards for customer service, and a unified customer service culture is being developed to boost customer satisfaction and loyalty. To help employees take customer care to a new level, training sessions were held and tracking of indicators for service quality was started. All these measures did in fact result in customer care improvements – for 2015 the bank’s overall customer satisfaction rating was 90.3% and exceeded the average for banks in Lithuania. “We want it to be convenient and simple to use Šiaulių Bankas’s services – our banking outlets cover all of Lithuania and we’re investing in electronic channels. Plus, we’re constantly expanding our range of services for individuals and for business,” the bank’s CEO noted. A favourite among investors Šiaulių Bankas is the only Lithuanian bank whose shares trade on the Nasdaq Baltic exchange. The bank’s free float is 61% and its shares are among the most popular and liquid in the Baltic region. Strong operating results have encouraged growth in valuations of Šiaulių Bankas shares. In 2016 alone the share price rose by more than 80%. “We’re pleased that investors appreciate Šiaulių Bankas’s rising performance indicators. Our forecast is for return on capital to stay in the double digits in 2017, and we expect the bank’s shares will remain attractive for investors,” Vytautas Sinius said. Šiaulių Bankas’s financial indicators