Accessibility of services
Amendments to the Credit Institution Law (Section 73.22; came into force on 1 January 2026) and Latvijas Banka's Regulation No 353 "Regulation on the In-person Provision of Financial Services" of 25 November 2024 were adopted with the aim of ensuring wider accessibility of in-person services to customers of credit institutions – consumers – in Latvian regions. According to the new regulation, major credit institutions complying with the criteria referred to in Section 73.1, Paragraph one of the Credit Institution Law (AS SEB banka, Swedbank AS, AS Citadele banka, and the Latvian branch of Luminor Bank AS) must provide in-person services as of 1 January 2026. This regulation aims to maintain a balance between the digitalisation of financial services and the provision of in-person support to the population of Latvia's regions that still needs in-person services but faces limited access due to the long distance to service locations.
Regulation on the In-person Provision of Financial Services stipulates two types of service delivery arrangements: permanent in‑person service locations (with operating hours of at least 16 hours per week) and alternative service locations. At alternative service locations, credit institutions are required to provide in‑person financial services to consumers upon request, no later than five business days after receipt of the request.
In 2025, Latvijas Banka worked closely with credit institutions to encourage the expansion of in‑person service coverage across Latvia's regions in 2026. To comply with regulatory requirements on the regional accessibility of in‑person financial services, credit institutions will open new service locations in 12 Latvian cities in 2026 (8 permanent service locations and 13 alternative service locations). New in‑person service locations are to be provided by AS SEB banka, Swedbank AS, and AS Citadele banka. As of 31 December 2025, the in‑person service coverage of the Latvian branch of Luminor Bank AS already complied with the requirements for the accessibility of in‑person service locations.
Improvement of the licensing support mechanism
In 2025, Latvijas Banka reviewed and complemented the licensing support mechanism. Along with the improvements made, Latvijas Banka offers every potential financial market participant a direct and convenient opportunity to receive a consultation, providing clarity on the expectations of the supervisory authority and the interpretation of the regulatory framework. Principles for simplifying licensing were also introduced, including with regard to the descriptions of required documentation.
The developed licensing support mechanism ensures a clear and structured licensing process with regular meeting opportunities. The main elements of the process are as follows:
- a preparatory or pre-licensing stage involving meeting with experts before submitting the application;
- a licensing guide that provides an overview of the licensing process, expectations of the supervisory authority, and actions to be taken by a potential financial market participant;
- harmonisation of pre-licensing and licensing application forms by systematising the content of the application and the documents to be submitted in a structured manner;
- a multi-stage application completeness review process to ensure that applications are checked before substantive examination commences;
- guidance on the preparation of documents required for obtaining a licence, registration, or authorisation, including the supervisory authority's expectations and recommendations for improving the quality of applications.
Improvement of prudential regulation
In 2025, work was carried out on amendments to the Credit Institution Law (which entered into force on 6 January 2026), introducing a regulatory framework for specialised credit institutions with a lower initial capital threshold. The amendments aim to promote competitiveness in the credit institution segment, support the development of financial market participants, including credit unions and payment institutions, and improve the accessibility of financial services throughout Latvia. The amendments to the Credit Institution Law stipulate that a specialised credit institution with initial capital of no less than EUR 1 million may provide the financial services referred to in the law To qualify as a specialised credit institution, an institution must meet at least one of the following criteria:
- a limited range of customers established according to the territorial principle, the employment principle, or the principle of community of interests within the meaning of the Law on Credit Unions;
- provision of financial services exclusively in digital form;
- a business model that envisages the provision of innovative services, which are new or significantly improved financial services in Latvia.
Upon commencement of operations, specialised credit institutions are subject to the same requirements as credit institutions with a minimum initial capital of EUR 5 million, including requirements relating to risk assessment, capital adequacy, and financial stability.
As part of the reform of the cooperative credit union segment, on 5 June 2025, the Saeima adopted amendments to the Law on Credit Unions, expanding the range of persons eligible to receive loans from cooperative credit unions. Going forward, cooperative credit unions, subject to authorisation from Latvijas Banka, will be permitted to grant loans to their members, both commercial and cooperative companies. The amendments were developed in close cooperation between Latvijas Banka, the Ministry of Finance, and representatives of cooperative credit unions, taking into account the sector's interest in expanding its activities to include lending to legal entities. The amendments will improve access to financing in Latvia's regions and support the sustainable growth of the cooperative credit union segment.
Latvijas Banka also revised the regulatory framework previously applicable to cooperative credit unions and developed a new "Regulation on Credit Risk Management for Credit Unions" and "Regulation on Internal Control Systems for Credit Unions". As part of the simplification initiative aimed at introducing the principle of proportionality into the supervision of cooperative credit unions by aligning requirements with the nature, scale, and complexity of their operations, cooperative credit unions will henceforth be classified as significant or less significant institutions. This will ease a number of requirements relating to the establishment of internal control systems and reduce the administrative burden for smaller cooperative credit unions. At the same time, all requirements relating to credit risk management have been consolidated in a single legal act, clarifying and providing more detailed guidance on existing requirements in areas such as collateral valuation, loan issuance, and creditworthiness assessment, as well as loan administration and loan quality monitoring. In addition, more detailed and specific requirements have been established for those cooperative credit unions that provide lending services to commercial companies and cooperative companies.
Modern services
Making use of the opportunity provided by Latvijas Banka for non-bank payment service providers and credit unions to also become participants in the Electronic Clearing System (EKS), the payment system established and maintained by Latvijas Banka, the first non-bank payment service providers (licensed payment institutions and electronic money institutions) connected to the EKS in 2025.
To ensure high-quality support for new EKS participants, Latvijas Banka prepared explanatory descriptions of processes, provided consultations on compliance with legal and technical requirements, and assisted with participation planning and the testing process. This approach ensures equal access for all Latvian payment service providers to EKS services and promotes the development of payment services in Latvia.
In October 2025, the requirement under the Instant Payments Regulation entered into force obliging payment service providers to verify the payee's name against its account number before initiating a payment. To support Latvian payment service providers in complying with this requirement, Latvijas Banka developed the Instant Verification service. It is an additional security feature designed to reduce the risks of fraud and human error in payment processing.