Citadele Banka

Banka Citadele AS
IndustryBanking
Founded30 June 2010
Headquarters
Riga
,
Latvia
ProductsFinancial services, Insurance
Decrease €221.5 million (2025)
Decrease €84.7 million (2025)
Total assetsIncrease €5.4 billion (2025)
OwnersRipplewood Holdings (73.4%)
EBRD (24.6%)
Management, employees and other investors (1.9%)
Citadele Banka (0.1%)
Number of employees
Decrease 1,288 (2025)
Websitewww.citadele.lv
Footnotes

AS Citadele banka is a Latvian bank and financial and asset manager. The principal market of operation for the Citadele Group is the Baltic States.

Citadele banka is the parent company of a Group offering banking, financial and private capital management services in its home market and through its international presence.

Citadele is one of two institutions created in 2010 from a state administered split of Parex Bank into viable and distressed banking assets. The other is Reverta. Parex was privately founded 1992 and taken over by the Latvian government on 8 November 2008 during the 2008 Latvian financial crisis. The bad bank assets remained with Parex, now renamed Reverta.

Citadele has been designated in 2020 as a Significant Institution under the criteria of European Banking Supervision, and as a consequence is directly supervised by the European Central Bank.

In 2024 the CEO Johanas Åkerblomas was replaced by Rūta Ežerskienė.

Name

The name Citadele is drawn from the Italian word “citadella” meaning a small city, a powerful fortress, and the main fortification at the heart of the feudal city which also serves as the administrative and cultural centre. The headquarters of the Citadele Group is located at 2a Republic Square, Riga.

Ownership

At the end of 2025, 73.4% of Citadela Bankas shares were owned by an international group of investors represented by Ripplewood Advisors LLC. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) continues to own 24.6% of the shares, while the management, employees and other investors own 1.9% of the shares. Citadele Banka owns 0.1% of the shares.

Citadele expansion to the Baltic countries

Following its establishment in Latvia, Citadele Banka expanded its operations into Estonia and Lithuania.

Estonia

Citadele opened a branch in Estonia in 2010, with a focus on small to medium-sized businesses. In 2017, the branch started offering retail services.

In 2022, Citadele and the EIB Group agreed on a framework that will provide at least €460 million in new loans to companies in Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia, with a focus on small and medium-sized enterprises and climate-related projects.

Lithuania

Citadele initially operated in Lithuania through its subsidiary AB Citadele bankas since 2010. In 2018, the Citadele Group started the process of restructuring the subsidiary into a branch. The restructuring process was completed in January 2019, when AB Citadele bankas legally became the Lithuanian branch of Citadele Banka.

In March 2020, Citadele Bank invested €10 million in a partnership with fintech firm SME Finance. It was the first collaboration between a bank and fintech in Lithuania. In 2021, the bank launched Klix Pay Later.

In 2025, Citadele partnered with the European Investment Fund under the InvestEU programme for up to €138 million in preferential financing for SMEs and microbusinesses across the Baltics. In 2026, Citadele partnered with ČEKIS cash register and Site.pro accounting software for an integration as a part of i.EKA cash registers optimization project.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "History". Citadele Group. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
  2. 1 2 "Annual Report 2025". Retrieved 2026-05-13.
  3. ↑ "Citadele bank HQ in Rīga bought by Lithuanian investment fund". Eng.lsm.lv. 2020-11-12. Retrieved 2024-02-13.
  4. ↑ "Citadele Bank is moving its Lithuanian headquarters to Green Hall business valley". en.15min.lt. 2020-03-13. Retrieved 2024-02-13.
  5. ↑ "JSC "Citadele banka"". Lietuvos bankas (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 2023-10-12.
  6. ↑ ""Citadele" vadovas Akerblomas: ambicijos yra gerai, o štai godumas – blogai ir jį labai sunku reguliuoti". lrt.lt (in Lithuanian). 2021-11-19. Retrieved 2023-10-12.
  7. ↑ Informacija, Ekonomikos Ir Finansų (2010-08-26). ""Parex" banko pavadinimas pakeistas į naują". Delfi verslas (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 2023-10-12.
  8. ↑ "AB "Citadele" banko inspektavimo rezultatų ir priežiūrinio tikrinimo ir vertinimo rezultatai". Lietuvos bankas (in Lithuanian). 2012-03-06. Retrieved 2023-10-12.
  9. ↑ "AB "Parex" bankas tapo AB "Citadele" banku". 15min.lt/verslas (in Lithuanian). 2010-08-26. Retrieved 2023-10-12.
  10. ↑ "List of supervised entities" (PDF). European Central Bank. 1 January 2023.
  11. ↑ "European Central Bank takes over direct supervision of Citadele banka". eng.lsm.lv. Retrieved 2024-05-22.
  12. ↑ Gapšys, Justinas. ""Citadele" bankui vadovaus R. Ežerskienė". vz.lt (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 2024-05-22.
  13. ↑ "Jaan Liitmäe started as the new Head of Citadele branch in Estonia | Press releases | Media | Citadele Group". www.cblgroup.com. 2018-01-10. Retrieved 2026-05-11.
  14. ↑ "Citadele Bank to expand its retail banking operations in Estonia". The Baltic Course | Baltic States news & analytics. Retrieved 2026-05-12.
  15. ↑ "EIB Group and AS Citadele banka announce a deal to support at least €460 million in new lending for Baltic businesses". European Investment Bank. Retrieved 2026-05-11.
  16. ↑ "AB „Parex" bankas tapo AB „Citadele" banku". 15min.lt/verslas (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 2026-05-12.
  17. ↑ "AS Citadele banka has made decision to change AB Citadele bankas legal status from subsidiary to branch | Announcements | Investor relations | Citadele Group". www.cblgroup.com. 2018-04-20. Retrieved 2026-05-11.
  18. ↑ "Banking Activity Review" (PDF). Retrieved 2026-05-12.
  19. ↑ Čiulada, Paulius. "„Citadele" pasiruošęs finansuoti 10 mln. Eur neapmokėtų sąskaitų - Verslo žinios". vz.lt (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 2026-05-11.
  20. ↑ "Citadele Bank invests €10m in SME Finance". FinTech Futures. Retrieved 2026-05-12.
  21. ↑ "„airBaltic" pristato „Klix" mokėjimo priemonę". 15min.lt/verslas (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 2026-05-11.
  22. ↑ "airBaltic introduces Klix payment option | Press releases | Media | Citadele Group". www.cblgroup.com. 2021-12-10. Retrieved 2026-05-12.
  23. ↑ "EIF and Citadele Bank Partner to Provide Up to €138 Million in Preferential Loans for Baltic Businesses | EuropaWire". Retrieved 2026-05-11.
  24. ↑ "Integration possibilities with Site.pro | Citadele bank". www.citadele.lt. Retrieved 2026-05-11.
  25. ↑ "Tarp verslų – sumaištis dėl kasos aparatų: didelė dalis nespėja pasiruošti laiku, gresia baudos". www.lrytas.lt (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 2026-05-11.