Akcinė bendrovė bankas SNORAS — Company Profile

Note: AB bankas SNORAS (Snoras Bank) is a defunct Lithuanian commercial bank. Its operations were suspended and the bank was nationalized in November 2011; bankruptcy proceedings were initiated in December 2011. Much of the company’s operational and contact information is no longer active. Where precise data could not be verified from primary registries, this profile clearly notes the absence.

Company Overview

Legal name: Akcinė bendrovė bankas SNORAS (AB bankas SNORAS).
Trade name: Bankas SNORAS; Snoras Bank.
Founded: 1992 (as a Lithuanian commercial bank).
Headquarters (historical): Vilnius, Lithuania.
Industry sector: Banking and financial services (retail and corporate banking, investment services via subsidiaries).

Legal Information

Įmonės kodas (Company Registration Code): Not available in this profile; could not be verified from primary sources within this context.
PVM kodas (VAT Code): Not available; could not be verified.
Official website (historical): www.snoras.lt and www.snoras.com (both inactive post-2011).
Email address: Not available; former corporate mailboxes are inactive.
Registered office address (historical): Vilnius, Lithuania (exact street address not confirmed here).
Registered office phone: Not available; former numbers are inactive.
Company status: Nationalized in November 2011; bankruptcy proceedings initiated December 2011; operations ceased.

Business Operations

Main products and services (historical):
- Retail banking: current and savings accounts, term deposits, consumer loans, mortgages, bank cards, internet banking.
- Corporate banking: business accounts, working-capital and investment loans, trade finance, cash management.
- Payment services: domestic and international transfers, card acquiring.
- Investment and brokerage services: historically provided via group entities (e.g., “Finasta” brand at the time), including asset management and securities brokerage.
Business model: Full-service commercial bank focused on mass-market retail customers and SMEs, supported by an extensive branch network across Lithuania and minority cross-border interests (e.g., stake in Latvia’s Latvijas Krājbanka at the time).
Market position (historical): Prior to nationalization, SNORAS was among Lithuania’s notable retail banks by branch footprint and deposit base, competing with Scandinavian-owned banks and local institutions.

History

Founding: Established in 1992 as a Lithuanian commercial bank during the post-Soviet banking sector formation.
Expansion: Through the 2000s, SNORAS expanded its branch network nationally and diversified services. The bank and its group were associated with investment services (Finasta brand) and acquired a significant stake in Latvia’s Latvijas Krājbanka.
Ownership concentration: By the late 2000s, the bank’s majority ownership was concentrated with shareholders widely reported as Vladimir Antonov (majority) and Raimondas Baranauskas (significant minority), alongside a small free float from earlier public listing periods.
2011 intervention: On 16 November 2011, the Bank of Lithuania suspended the bank’s operations, citing serious capital deficiencies and governance issues, and the Government of Lithuania nationalized 100% of SNORAS’s shares. A temporary administrator was appointed.
Bankruptcy: In December 2011, Lithuanian courts initiated bankruptcy proceedings for AB bankas SNORAS. Depositor compensation was handled through Lithuania’s deposit insurance scheme (Indėlių ir investicijų draudimas), and the bank’s assets entered liquidation.
Aftermath: Asset sales and liquidations proceeded in subsequent years; the bank was delisted from the stock exchange. Cross-border impacts included Latvia’s Latvijas Krājbanka entering administration shortly after SNORAS’s collapse. Legal proceedings and claims involving former owners and the state continued in later years.

Financial Information

Revenue/financials: Detailed annual revenue and profit figures are not presented here; public reporting ceased following suspension of operations and bankruptcy.
Funding rounds: As a bank, SNORAS was primarily funded by deposits and wholesale funding rather than venture-style funding rounds.
Stock exchange listing: Historically listed on the NASDAQ OMX Vilnius exchange; subsequently suspended and delisted after nationalization and bankruptcy (2011–2012 period).
Ownership structure (pre-2011): Widely reported in contemporary media: majority shareholder Vladimir Antonov (approximately two-thirds), significant shareholder Raimondas Baranauskas (approximately one-quarter), remaining minority/free float. Exact percentages varied by source and date.
Post-2011 ownership: 100% owned by the Republic of Lithuania following nationalization until bankruptcy proceedings.

Leadership and Management

Key executives (historical):
- Raimondas Baranauskas — President and Chairman of the Management Board (until 2011).
- Vladimir Antonov — Majority shareholder; served on supervisory governance roles per media reports (not an executive in day-to-day management).
Administrators (2011):
- Temporary Administrator: Reportedly Simon Freakley (appointed by the Bank of Lithuania at the time of nationalization).
- Bankruptcy Administrator: Reported in media as Neil Cooper (Zolfo Cooper) during the initial bankruptcy stages; administrator roles evolved over the course of proceedings.
Board and supervisory members: Full historical rosters are not comprehensively available in this profile; public listings and annual reports (pre-2011) contained detailed compositions.

Office Locations

Head office (historical): Vilnius, Lithuania (exact street address not confirmed here).
Branch network: Prior to 2011, SNORAS maintained an extensive nationwide network, including branches and service centers in major cities such as Vilnius, Kaunas, Klaipėda, Šiauliai, and Panevėžys, among others.
Phone numbers: Specific branch phone numbers are not available in this profile; all former contact lines are inactive following bankruptcy.

Market Position

Competitors (historical): SEB bankas, Swedbank, DNB (later Luminor), Nordea (later Luminor), Šiaulių bankas, and Ūkio bankas (which itself collapsed in 2013).
Competitive advantages (historical): Broad physical presence through branches; emphasis on retail deposit gathering and consumer lending; integrated investment services via group companies.
Market share: Public sources characterized SNORAS as one of the larger retail banks by branch network and deposit base in Lithuania prior to 2011; exact market share figures vary by year and source.

Recent Developments

2011–2012: Nationalization, temporary administration, initiation of bankruptcy, delisting from NASDAQ OMX Vilnius, depositor compensation via Indėlių ir investicijų draudimas.
2013–2016: Continued liquidation and asset sales; related proceedings in Latvia concerning Latvijas Krājbanka.
Post-2016: Ongoing legal matters involving former owners and claims against the Lithuanian state reported in international media and arbitration contexts. No operational business activities exist under AB bankas SNORAS.

Contact Information

Current contact (corporate): Not applicable; the bank is bankrupt and defunct.
Historical website: www.snoras.lt (inactive).
Deposit insurance queries (historical): Indėlių ir investicijų draudimas (Lithuania’s deposit insurance fund) handled compensation to SNORAS depositors after 2011; consult current authorities for archival inquiries.
Regulatory authority: Bank of Lithuania (Lietuvos bankas) — for regulatory notices and archival press releases.

Sources and References

Wikipedia — Bankas Snoras (English/Lithuanian editions). Summary of history, ownership, nationalization, and bankruptcy. URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bankas_Snoras and Lithuanian edition: https://lt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snoras

Bank of Lithuania (Lietuvos bankas) press releases — November–December 2011 announcements on SNORAS: suspension of activities, appointment of temporary administrator, nationalization, and subsequent steps. Archive URL: https://www.lb.lt

Reuters coverage — News articles in November–December 2011 detailing nationalization, ownership structure (Antonov and Baranauskas), and cross-border impacts (Latvijas Krājbanka). Example: https://www.reuters.com (search: “Lithuania nationalizes Snoras”)

NASDAQ OMX Vilnius notices — Trading suspension and delisting notices for AB bankas SNORAS post-2011. Archive: https://nasdaqbaltic.com

Indėlių ir investicijų draudimas — Notices on depositor compensation following SNORAS bankruptcy (2011–2012). URL: https://www.iidraudimas.lt

Government of Lithuania statements — Public communications regarding nationalization and the rationale for intervention, November 2011. URL: https://lrkm.lrv.lt and https://lrv.lt (search archives).

Note on unavailable data: Precise įmonės kodas, PVM kodas, historical registered office street address, and phone numbers were not reliably retrievable within this context. Readers are encouraged to consult Lithuania’s Centre of Registers (Registrų centras) or the Rekvizitai.lt business directory archives for confirmed legal identifiers and address details.