Parex banka opened its second branch in Germany on 7 August, 2007 becoming the Bank's third branch in Western Europe. Parex banka's first foreign branch was registered in Berlin in October 2005, while the second opened its doors to customers in Stockholm in May 2006. The Bank's new branch is located in Hamburg - one of Europe's largest seaports. Parex banka is the first bank from the Accession countries of the European Union to open branches in Western Europe. Gatis Kokins, Vice President of Customer Service at Parex banka, comments: “With the launch of the new branch in Hamburg we continue our expansion strategy in Western European markets. It has so far proved to be a great success with customers from this region showing considerable interest in Parex banka's products and services. The selection of Hamburg was consequential as it is the largest German city of the Hanseatic League and has long-standing trading relations and good ties with Riga.” ”We aim to start servicing corporate clients in addition to providing term-deposits for retail customers, as Hamburg is famous for its high level of entrepreneurship and Nordic traditions. Moreover, we already have several clients in Hamburg, as Parex banka is the only bank in the Baltic region to offer shipping financing, for example,” Mr. Kokins added. Parex banka's performance in Germany and Sweden, can be characterized by the following figures: - On July 2007, the volume of customers' deposits in Germany reached 32 million euro, an increase of 33% compared to the beginning of the year, whilst deposits in Sweden amounted to 29 million euros; 4.5 times more than 6 months ago. Thus, the total amount of Parex banka's attracted deposits in Western markets almost doubled in the first half of 2007, considerably exceeding similar indicators in Latvia; - Parex banka currently has 2300 customers and twelve employees in Germany. The newly opened Hamburg branch will employ eight more specialists. Presently, Parex banka is looking for premises in order to set up a new branch in Munich, Germany, the heart of Bavaria. Furthermore, Parex banka plans to open a branch in Malmo (Sweden) this month. As the location of the city is close to the Danish border, it will also serve as a forefront for Parex banka's activities in the Kingdom of Denmark. Parex banka started expanding into Western European markets at the end of 1990's, opening its first representative office in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, in 1998. Since then the Bank's highly professional team has established close business relationships with German entrepreneurs and financial institutions. Over the last 10 years, 20 German banks have participated in the syndicated lending transactions for Parex banka, investing over 600 million euro, including such banks as Bayerische Landesbank, Commerzbank AG, Dresdner Bank AG, DZ Bank AG (Deutsche Zentral-Genossenschaftsbank), HSH Nordbank AG, Landesbank Baden-Wurttemberg, Landesbank Berlin AG, LRP Landesbank Rheinland-Pfalz, Landesbank Saar, Landesbank Sachsen Girozentrale. About Parex banka: With EUR 3.9 billion in assets, Parex banka is one of the leading banks in the Baltic States, offering integrated client services, including lending, payment card services, leasing, asset management and securities brokerage. The Bank is represented in 15 countries through its wide network of representative offices, branches and subsidiaries, including a subsidiary in Switzerland, AP Anlage und Privatbank AG. Parex banka is rated Baa3 by Moody's Investors Service, BB+ by Fitch Ratings and BBB by Capital Intelligence. Additional Information: Julija Kondratovica Deputy Head of International Communications Department E-mail: jk@parex.lv Ph.: + 371 777 8572