OREANDA-NEWS. In a press conference held on 8 December 2008, Nils Melngailis, the recently appointed Chairman of Parex banka emphasised that the Bank was continuing to work normally and that conditions in the banking sector were stabilising following Government intervention, reported the press-centre of Parex banka.

“Since my appointment on Friday I have been working intensively with the senior management of Parex banka to form a full understanding of the current situation. It is now clear to me that much recent speculation about the Bank has been very much exaggerated. In particular, the outflow of deposits has been overstated and has decreased significantly. Even so, the global environment is obviously very challenging and we are monitoring developments in the market closely. In this respect one of the most important factors for us is the outcome of the State’s negotiations with the International Monetary Fund,” Nils Melngailis stated in the press conference.

Directly answering questions about the level of deposit withdrawals from the Bank last week, Mr. Melngailis stressed that these amounted to LVL 50 million rather than the 200 million that had been widely reported. He further added that the subject of a potential strategic investor is not a current issue: “Currently, the foremost priority is to maintain stability at Parex banka. We will of course consider seriously any interesting proposals that may be made, but our main focus is to deal with the situation created by the global liquidity crunch.”

In order to clarify the issues related to the possible amount of support required by Parex banka, Nils Melngailis stated that the Bank was not seeking a specific sum from the Government: “The situation is continuing to develop and we are as usual working very actively with our clients and depositors. Our success in retaining the confidence of our clients naturally reduces the extent, to which we look to the Government for support, but in any case the scope of the Government’s intervention is dependent on the State’s negotiations with the IMF.”

Likewise, Mr. Melngailis highlighted that the most important tasks definitely include communication with top personnel of the Bank, employees and clients. “Despite the events of the last three weeks, the management and staff of Parex banka have ensured that the Bank has remained fully functional,” Nils Melngailis said. Other key tasks for the Bank mentioned by Mr. Melngailis include supporting the Government in negotiations with International Monetary Fund and concluding negotiations with Syndicated lenders.