Bankas Snoras AB or simply SNORAS (, ) was a commercial

bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...

, founded in

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

operating in all three

Baltic states The Baltic states or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term encompassing Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone, and the OECD. The three sovereign states on the eastern co ...

. It was a member of the financial group Konversbank and was listed on the

NASDAQ OMX Vilnius The Nasdaq Vilnius is a stock exchange established in 1993 (''Vilnius Stock Exchange'', ''VSE'') and currently operated by Nasdaq, Inc.. Shares are listed on a Nasdaq Baltic stock exchange together with stocks from Latvia and Estonia. OMX Viln ...

stock exchange. On November 16, 2011, 100% of the bank shares were nationalized by the Lithuanian government and the bank was placed into temporary administration. On November 24, the bank was declared bankrupt. It had 4 billion litas (€1.16 billion) in debt.

History

Bankas Snoras AB was founded 1992 as a regional bank of

Šiauliai Šiauliai ( ; ) is a city in northern Lithuania, the List of cities in Lithuania, country's fourth largest city and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, sixth largest city in the Baltic States, with a population of 112 581 in 202 ...

and renamed to its current name in 1993. It was recognised as the best bank in Lithuania in 2006 by financial publisher ''

The Banker ''The Banker'' is an English-language monthly international financial affairs publication owned by '' The Financial Times'' and edited in London, United Kingdom. The magazine was first published in January 1926 through founding editor Brendan ...

''. However, an inspection at the bank in November 2011, revealed poor asset quality, weak risk management and lack of proper operating data. The check also revealed that the bank has ignored the central bank's recommendation to reduce operating risks.

Shareholders

Snoras was listed on the

stock exchange. Major shareholders, holding more than 5% of the shares of the company were: * Vladimir Antonov – 67% * Raimondas Baranauskas – 25%

Notable subsidiaries

Snoras has invested in a variety of business, most notable are: * Investment bank Finasta * Latvian bank

Latvijas Krājbanka Latvijas Krājbanka () was a Latvian bank listed on the Riga OMX exchange (,). Overview was originally founded in 1924 as the Latvian postal savings bank. Under the Latvian SSR, it was integrated into the Savings Bank of the USSR. Followin ...

Bankruptcy

In 2011, November 16, by the decision of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania, the bank's activities were suspended, its managers were dismissed due to the possible default of the bank's credit obligations, and due to suspicions of non-transparent financial activities of the bank's managers. All the bank's shares were taken over by the state, the Bank of Lithuania temporarily appointed administrator Simon Freakley to coordinate the bank's activities. In 2011, November 24, the Bank of Lithuania applied to the court regarding the bankruptcy of AB bankas Snoras, on December 7. Bankruptcy proceedings have been filed against the bank. Neil Hunter Cooper took over as receiver. In 2014, Snoro's bankruptcy administrator will complete the sale of Finasto. The loan portfolio, the bank's and real estate assets taken over from borrowers, both in Lithuania and abroad, are being sold. February 1, employment contracts with 134 bank employees were extended, another 4 employees were on paternity or pregnancy leave.

Investment in car industry

Snoras, in 2008, purchased 29.8% of shares of Dutch sports car manufacturer

Spyker Cars Spyker Cars (, ) is a Dutch sports car brand held by the holding company Spyker N.V. (formerly known as Spyker Cars N.V. and Swedish Automobile N.V.). The modern Spyker Cars company held the legal rights to the brand name. The company's mot ...

. In the same year, Snoras sold the stake in Spyker Cars. In 2010, Snoras became sponsor of

Renault F1 Renault, a French automobile manufacturer, has been associated with Formula One as both team owner and engine manufacturer for various periods since 1977. In 1977, the company entered Formula One as a constructor, introducing the turbo engine ...

team.
Renault F1 announces SNORAS sponsorship

References

{{Authority control Defunct banks of Lithuania Companies based in Vilnius Companies listed on Nasdaq Vilnius Banks disestablished in 2011 Banks established in 1992 2011 disestablishments in Lithuania Lithuanian companies established in 1992