Commerzbank AG, one of Germany’s oldest financial institutions, has announced plans to open a Representative Office in Vilnius. The new Representative will serve as the hub for the three Baltic States Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. Specifically, Commerzbank will focus on trade and project finance in the region. Additionally, the deepening of the cooperation with the public sector and local financial services industry is a key priority.

Established in Hamburg in 1870 and now headquartered in Frankfurt am Main, Commerzbank AG has grown to become a leading German financial institution and is now one of the largest financiers of German foreign trade. Commerzbank is the first German bank to open an office in New York (in 1971), it has since gone on to set up a global network that stretches to around 40 countries.

Its Baltic Representative Office in Vilnius will be the latest step in its mission to accompany its clients wherever they do business. Lithuania is already home to established German names such as Continental, HELLA, and Schmitz Cargobull, and German firms are the largest foreign investors in the Lithuanian Manufacturing sector.

According to Michael Kotzbauer, Member of the Board of Managing Directors at Commerzbank AG, Commerzbank’s clients will benefit from the bank’s local expertise and its strong network on the ground in Lithuania and the rest of the Baltic states.

This decision is welcomed by President of Lithuania Gitanas Nausėda, who is also quick to emphasise the importance of the two countries’ strategic partnership: 

“This is an important step forward in our mutual collaboration as nations, which comes at a time when collaboration on all fronts is crucial. Following the joint communiqué with Chancellor, Germany has also confirmed plans of permanently stationing several thousand troops in Lithuania, and the overall level of mutual projects is rising. We look forward to welcoming Commerzbank to our growing financial sector and would like to invite others to join them and us here in Lithuania.”

Commerzbank will not only be assisting German companies looking to expand into the Baltics, it will also be pursuing opportunities to invest in renewable solutions – one of the company’s main strategic focus areas. Here again, Lithuania is the perfect fit, as Aušrinė Armonaitė, Minister of the Economy and Innovation of Lithuania, observes:

“Lithuania has set itself the target of reducing carbon emissions by 30% by 2030 from its 2005 level, and reaching net-zero emissions by 2050. To do this we need to create innovative and sustainable solutions. It’s fantastic to see that Commerzbank not only shares our vision for a greener future, but that it’s willing to invest to make it happen.”

Gediminas Šimkus, Chairman of the Bank of Lithuania, sees the entrance of a new player within the Lithuanian banking sector as a strong vindication of local competence, and governance:

“We wholeheartedly welcome the opportunity to have a bank as prestigious as Commerzbank join our sector. The arrival of every new entrant benefits the ecosystem’s health and competitiveness overall, with businesses and individuals directly reaping the benefits. We hope that this move will encourage other international banking institutions of this renown to take advantage of our robust yet accommodating regulatory environment and strong competencies in all finance-related areas.”

For Elijus Čivilis, General Manager of Invest Lithuania, the opening of this office is a further step in Lithuania’s journey to being recognized as a regional powerhouse for the financial sector: “We are already 1st in the EU in terms of licensed Fintech companies, and now with the arrival of Commerzbank we are improving our standing as a destination for more traditional banking institutions. Our hope is that by uniting all these players in one dynamic ecosystem, we will be able to co-create an innovation-based regional centre that rivals the world’s greatest financial centres.”