ECB pulls the plug on ABLV Bank

FRANKFURT/RIGA: Latvian lender ABLV Bank is failing or likely to fail and will be wound up as saving it is not in the public interest, the European Union´s Single Resolution Board and the European Central Bank said separately on Saturday.

Accused by U.S. authorities of large-scale money laundering, ABLV scrambled this week to come up with a survival plan but failed as customers fled and management could not come up with sufficient cash, despite offers of emergency central bank liquidity.

Latvia, a member of the euro zone and which borders Russia, has come under increasing scrutiny recently over allegations that it is a conduit for illicit financial activities involving Russia, Ukraine and even North Korea.

Privately held ABLV, Latvia´s third biggest bank, has been in particular focus since U.S. authorities accused it of covering up money laundering, bribing officials and facilitating the breach of sanctions against North Korea.

"Due to the significant deterioration of its liquidity, the bank is likely unable to pay its debts or other liabilities as they fall due," the ECB, ABLV´s supervisor, said.

"The bank did not have sufficient funds which are immediately available to withstand stressed outflows of deposits before the payout procedure of the Latvian deposit guarantee fund starts," the ECB added. The money laundering accusations, denied by the bank, destabilised the lender and around 600 million euros worth of deposits left within days, forcing the ECB to suspend all payments on Monday to prevent a disorderly collapse.

The Resolution Board noted that ABLV does not provide critical functions and its failure is not expected to have a significant adverse impact on financial stability.