We are advising SEB on the cross-border merger of its existing Baltic banks. It will be carried out by a side-step merger, whereby the Latvian and Lithuanian banks will be merged into the Estonian bank. Following this, the Estonian bank will operate in Latvia and Lithuania through branches established during the merger.
Strengthening SEB’s financing capacity in the Baltics
The purpose of the merger is to simplify SEB’s legal structure in order to future-proof SEB and secure its continued competitiveness. By combining the strengths of each of these three local banks, SEB will become the Baltic bank with the highest capital base and financing capacity. This will make SEB a bigger, stronger and more streamlined bank for its customers and employees.
“Merging these three Baltic banks into one will deliver clear benefits to our corporate customers, as the bank will be better equipped to cater for the increasing number of long-term and large-scale projects across the Baltics. The new legal structure will also bring advantages to SEB’s retail customers, as a simplified governance structure will reduce the time to market for new products and solutions,” said Allan Parik, chairman of the management board at SEB Estonia.
The regulatory approvals required to complete the merger were obtained in May 2026. The cross-border merger is expected to be completed at the beginning of January 2027. On the completion of the merger, the business name of the bank will be changed to SEB Bank AS.
Our services and client team
This landmark case of a cross-border merger between heavily regulated banks is a very complex transaction requiring advice on multiple fields of law. We are advising the client on the aforementioned legal matters, including the regulatory filings required for merger completion and branch establishment, employee consultation proceedings and drafting related documentation, as well as corporate law matters, including documentation for completing the cross-border merger.
Our pan-Baltic team was led by partner Kätlin Krisak, counsels Piret Lappert and Jane Eespõld, and senior associate Kristi Aer. The team also comprises partners Rudolfs Engelis, Mantas Petkevičius, Augustas Klezys, Nauris Grigals and Piret Jesse; counsels Pirkko-Liis Harkmaa, Santa Rubīna, Lina Aleknaitė-van der Molen and Andis Burkevics; senior associates Zane Paeglīte, Zanda Frišfelde, Agnietė Venckienė, Krista Ševerev, Ana Borovko, Edvīns Draba and Māris Simulis; and associates Goda Jakubauskaitė, Beatričė Zubytė, Robin Sarapuu and Andrius Pilitauskas.
