Russia's Konversbank is acquiring Lithuania's mid-sized Snoras Bank as a vehicle to enter European Union markets

Russia's Konversbank is acquiring Lithuania's mid-sized Snoras Bank as a vehicle to enter European Union markets once the ex-Soviet Baltic state joins the bloc in 2004, Lithuania's central bank said on Friday. "This is already EU territory in their view," said Bank of Lithuania Governor Reinoldijus Sarkinas. The central banker told reporters that Konversbank had reported purchasing a holding company that owns a 49.9 percent stake in Snoras, hoping later this year to increase that stake and take direct control of the Lithuanian bank. He added that the deal did not need approval by the Lithuanian and Russian central banks until the direct shareholder, the Luxembourg-registered Incorion Investment Holding Company, or the size of its stake, changed. He saw no relation with a failed $300 million investment, which authorities blocked last May over suspected links to Russian organized crime, which would have boosted Snoras' capital 10 times and made it the largest bank in the Baltics. Snoras is Lithuania's fourth-largest bank. It reported a 2002 profit of 10.3 million litas (3 million euros), with total assets of 1.13 billion litas at year-end. Interfax recently ranked Konversbank as Russia's 133rd largest bank by assets. Media reports say it is owned 85 percent by Akademkhimbank and 14.26 percent by the Russian state, with one share belonging to Alfa Bank.