Zatlers, pictured above, said the legislation would make it hard for the government to solve the problems in the bank and would give the former owners of Parex too much influence. Photo by Toms Kalniņš/Office of the President of the Republic of Latvia
RIGA — Latvian President Valdis Zatlers has promised to exercise his veto over new amendments to the Credit Institutions Act supported by opposition parties in the Saeima.
The amendments to the law are aimed specifically at the Parex Bank privatization process. Parex Bank was nationalized by the Latvian government in 2008 after its finances hit the wall at the start of the global financial crisis.
During a [private_supervisor]television interview with TV3’s “Nekā Personīgi,” President Valdis Zatlers was critical of the Harmony Center-led amendments to the Credit Institutions Act. The amendments to the act stipulate that credit restructuring or ownership change would need to be approved by the Saeima Finance and Capital Market Supervisory Commission, giving the parliament greater control over the process currently being handled by Cabinet of Ministers. Although Zatlers has criticized the Cabinet’s handling of Parex in the past, he asserts that this legislation would make it hard for the government to solve the problems in the bank and would give the former owners of Parex too much influence.
The president stressed that the current version of the amendments, if adopted, would be vetoed and sent back to the Saeima for reconsideration.
In response to a question whether he is disturbed by the bank’s former owners’ potential impact on this amendment in advance or not, Zatlers said, “the president has even greater impact on the law … if the version that is now in the parliament is adopted, I shall send the law back for a secondary inspection by the parliament.”
“These changes may lead to the Latvian government having a reduced capacity to directly solve Parex’s problems. And I do not accept nor believe it is fair and equitable through legislation to continue the defense of the former bank owners’ financial interests and pay for it with the Latvian government money, which comes from taxpayers’ money,” Zatlers told TV3. [/private_supervisor] [private_subscription 1 month]television interview with TV3’s “Nekā Personīgi,” President Valdis Zatlers was critical of the Harmony Center-led amendments to the Credit Institutions Act. The amendments to the act stipulate that credit restructuring or ownership change would need to be approved by the Saeima Finance and Capital Market Supervisory Commission, giving the parliament greater control over the process currently being handled by Cabinet of Ministers. Although Zatlers has criticized the Cabinet’s handling of Parex in the past, he asserts that this legislation would make it hard for the government to solve the problems in the bank and would give the former owners of Parex too much influence.
The president stressed that the current version of the amendments, if adopted, would be vetoed and sent back to the Saeima for reconsideration.
In response to a question whether he is disturbed by the bank’s former owners’ potential impact on this amendment in advance or not, Zatlers said, “the president has even greater impact on the law … if the version that is now in the parliament is adopted, I shall send the law back for a secondary inspection by the parliament.”
“These changes may lead to the Latvian government having a reduced capacity to directly solve Parex’s problems. And I do not accept nor believe it is fair and equitable through legislation to continue the defense of the former bank owners’ financial interests and pay for it with the Latvian government money, which comes from taxpayers’ money,” Zatlers told TV3. [/private_subscription 1 month] [private_subscription 4 months]television interview with TV3’s “Nekā Personīgi,” President Valdis Zatlers was critical of the Harmony Center-led amendments to the Credit Institutions Act. The amendments to the act stipulate that credit restructuring or ownership change would need to be approved by the Saeima Finance and Capital Market Supervisory Commission, giving the parliament greater control over the process currently being handled by Cabinet of Ministers. Although Zatlers has criticized the Cabinet’s handling of Parex in the past, he asserts that this legislation would make it hard for the government to solve the problems in the bank and would give the former owners of Parex too much influence.
The president stressed that the current version of the amendments, if adopted, would be vetoed and sent back to the Saeima for reconsideration.
In response to a question whether he is disturbed by the bank’s former owners’ potential impact on this amendment in advance or not, Zatlers said, “the president has even greater impact on the law … if the version that is now in the parliament is adopted, I shall send the law back for a secondary inspection by the parliament.”
“These changes may lead to the Latvian government having a reduced capacity to directly solve Parex’s problems. And I do not accept nor believe it is fair and equitable through legislation to continue the defense of the former bank owners’ financial interests and pay for it with the Latvian government money, which comes from taxpayers’ money,” Zatlers told TV3. [/private_subscription 4 months] [private_subscription 1 year]television interview with TV3’s “Nekā Personīgi,” President Valdis Zatlers was critical of the Harmony Center-led amendments to the Credit Institutions Act. The amendments to the act stipulate that credit restructuring or ownership change would need to be approved by the Saeima Finance and Capital Market Supervisory Commission, giving the parliament greater control over the process currently being handled by Cabinet of Ministers. Although Zatlers has criticized the Cabinet’s handling of Parex in the past, he asserts that this legislation would make it hard for the government to solve the problems in the bank and would give the former owners of Parex too much influence.
The president stressed that the current version of the amendments, if adopted, would be vetoed and sent back to the Saeima for reconsideration.
In response to a question whether he is disturbed by the bank’s former owners’ potential impact on this amendment in advance or not, Zatlers said, “the president has even greater impact on the law … if the version that is now in the parliament is adopted, I shall send the law back for a secondary inspection by the parliament.”
“These changes may lead to the Latvian government having a reduced capacity to directly solve Parex’s problems. And I do not accept nor believe it is fair and equitable through legislation to continue the defense of the former bank owners’ financial interests and pay for it with the Latvian government money, which comes from taxpayers’ money,” Zatlers told TV3. [/private_subscription 1 year]
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