Growmore Group, a international investment and monetary services conglomerate with businesses throughout the UAE, UK, Switzerland, India and the Caribbean, has entered into an settlement for the strategic acquisition of Medicinos Bankas UAB, a leading retail bank in Lithuania with assets of US$395 million (355 million).

The acquisition will mark the growth of Growmores banking sector investments into the European Union (EU), backed by its knowledge in monetary services which includes offshore banking and asset management. Ernst & Young and Sorainen have been Growmores monetary and legal advisors on the deal, respectively. The Banks sale process was managed by Deloitte and the legal association TGS Baltic.

Backed by various revenue streams, a resilient net interest margin and sustained profitability, Medicinos Bankas has healthy fundamentals with deposit portfolio at US$334 million (301 million). At the closure of 2019, the capital adequacy ratio of the bank was at a healthy 17.63 per cent.

Nitin Shelke, Chairman of Growmore Group, said: This deal marks a strategic step in Growmores vision of evolving into a full-suite monetary services conglomerate. Operating in a exceedingly aggressive and high-potential market, Medicinos Bankas is well capitalized and has stated constant growth over the years. Despite the difficult global environment, we proceed to look at boom possibilities with the intention of developing a one-stop shop for the banking needs of our customers while handing over long-term value to all our stakeholders.

The operations of Medicinos Bankas, which includes its 51 branches in the country, will continue as normal, and with major focus on lending for small and medium businesses, private banking services and agricultural lending. With Growmore focusing on strategic investments in funding SMEs and startups, the acquisition serves as a perfect fit, with Lithuania recording constant progress in demand for SME funding.

Animesh Saxena, Chief Investment Officer of Growmore, added: We trust in the great value-add that this acquisition will carry with its strategic location providing us the springboard to similarly reinforce our footprint throughout the EU.

Lithuania has noticeably assorted banking operations with fees and commission accounting for almost 50 per cent of the total working revenue of Medicinos Bankas. The bank has constantly accelerated its RoE over the previous few years and maintained a conservative loan book via decreasing its non-performing assets.

Prior to the Covid-19 disaster that has impacted the world, Lithuania had reported strong financial performance with its Economic Sentiment Indicator surpassing the EU in 2016 and remaining robust above the long-term average at 110. Ranked 11th out of 190 nations in World Bank's Ease of Doing Business, Lithuanias credit scores have accelerated while economic structural reforms have boosted productivity.

Led by a crew of expert professionals, Growmore brings a rich heritage of almost two decades in monetary services throughout a number of sectors and in key geographies. Championing the digital era of the future, Growmore has developed and created the one of the worlds first Healthcare Digital Currency. The crew is active in the solar power space, creating a 1GW PV manufacturing plant in India and the UAE.