Luminor CEO Erkki Raasuke said that one of Luminor's objectives has been to establish an independent correspondent banking network and payment infrastructure, according to a press release.

"I am very pleased to have Citi, one of the world's leading USD clearing banks, as our partner in providing support to our customers for their cross-border payments," Raasuke said.

Citi, the third largest U.S. banking group, has become Luminor's global counterparty in several areas, according to the Baltic bank.

Luminor now has a direct correspondent banking relationship with Citia via USD nostro account as well as nostro accounts in other major currencies. Luminor began routing USD payments via its new core banking platform via Citibank N.A. as of the beginning of October.

Luminor plans to switch its cross-border payment flows serviced by DNB Bank ASA and Nordea Bank Abp to direct nostro accounts with new counterparty banks by the end of 2019. Customers will be informed of any changes in payment requisites.

DNB and Nordea will remain Luminor's correspondent banks for Nordic currencies.

Built on the Baltic businesses of Nordea and DNB, Luminor was established as an independent Baltic bank in fall 2017. Luminor is the third-largest provider of financial services in the Baltics, with approximately 1 million clients, 2,500 employees, and a market share of 16.4 percent in deposits and 20.2 percent in lending as of the end of the second quarter of 2019. Total shareholders' equity amounts to €1.6 billion, and Luminor is capitalized with a Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) ratio of 18 percent.

-

Download the ERR News app for Android and iOS now and never miss an update!