VILNIUS — The Finnish bank Pohjola has registered in Lithuania and intends to compete in the country’s foreign-dominated banking industry.

The Registry Center reported that the bank’s first branch will appear on Konstitucijos Avenue and will be headed by the former Nordea Bank executive Erika Jakimonytė. The registration of the bank is the fulfillment of the pledge that the bank would enter the Baltic banking scene.

In Finland the bank is heavily invested into forestry and technology acquisition. The bank has more than 30,000 shareholders and has been listed on the Helsinki stock exchange since 1989.

Since Lithuania’s independence from the Soviet Union, various banks have registered and operated in Lithuania including eight subsidiaries of foreign banks and nine domestically-owned commercial banks, with foreign banks controlling the lion’s share of the market.

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