Amendments to the Regulations of the Bank of Latvia No. 406 on Critical Financial Services Management — LB — LV

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Regulations of the Bank of Latvia No. 406
Riga, December 15, 2025

Amendments to the Regulations of the Bank of Latvia of October 9, 2023 No. 252 "Regulations on Critical Financial Services Management"

Issued in accordance with Part 3 of Article 22.3 of the National Security Law

Make the following amendments to the Regulations of the Bank of Latvia of October 9, 2023 No. 252 "Regulations on Critical Financial Services Management" (Latvijas Vēstnesis, 2023, No. 197):

Supplement the regulations with point 2.1 in the following wording:

"2.1 The term 'active client' in these regulations is used in the sense of the Regulations of the Bank of Latvia that establish the preparation and submission of supervisory reports."

Rephrase point 4 in the following wording:

"4. A credit institution is included in the list of service providers if it simultaneously meets the following criteria:

4.1. the number of open client payment accounts on December 31 of the previous year was at least five percent of the total number of payment accounts in credit institutions registered in the Republic of Latvia and branches of credit institutions registered in other countries in the Republic of Latvia;

4.2. resident household deposits on December 31 of the previous year were at least five percent of the total resident household deposits in credit institutions registered in the Republic of Latvia and branches of credit institutions registered in other countries in the Republic of Latvia."

Supplement the regulations with points 5.1, 5.2 and 5.3 in the following wording:

"5.1 The Bank of Latvia is entitled to carry out an out-of-band update of the list of service providers if reorganization, the transfer of a credit institution's business or other events related to the transfer of obligations of a credit institution, which occur after December 31 of the previous year, affect the credit institution's compliance with the criteria mentioned in point 4 of these regulations. In such a case, the Bank of Latvia is entitled not to apply the transition period mentioned in point 5 of these regulations to a credit institution that was previously not included in the list of service providers, or to shorten it, if the credit institution's compliance with the criteria mentioned in point 4 of these regulations is formed by assuming the obligations of a credit institution that was included in the list of service providers at the time of the transfer of obligations.

5.2 If a service provider included in the list of service providers undergoes reorganization in the form of a merger, and the acquiring company, to which the rights and obligations of the service provider pass as a result of the reorganization, is a credit institution registered in the Republic of Latvia or another Member State of the European Union, which provides critical financial services in the Republic of Latvia after the reorganization, then the acquiring company is recognized as a service provider for the purposes of these regulations and is bound by the requirements established in these regulations from the moment the reorganization enters into force. After the Bank of Latvia has assessed the application justifying the need to establish a transition period during which the acquiring company must ensure readiness to comply with the requirements established in these regulations, the Bank of Latvia is entitled to apply a transition period to the acquiring company that is not longer than that established in point 5 of these regulations.

5.3 If a credit institution reorganization in the form of a merger is completed in the period from January 1 to February 1 of the current calendar year, the compliance of the acquiring company with the status of a service provider is determined taking into account the aggregate compliance of the acquiring company and all credit institutions whose rights and obligations have been assumed by the acquiring company with the criteria mentioned in point 4 of these regulations on December 31 of the previous calendar year. If a transfer of a credit institution's business is completed in the period from January 1 to February 1 of the current calendar year, the compliance of the acquiring credit institution with the status of a service provider is determined taking into account the sum of the number of client payment accounts and the amount of resident household deposits of the acquiring company itself and the number of client payment accounts and the amount of resident household deposits of the credit institutions whose business the acquiring company has assumed as a result of the transfer of the credit institution's business from the transferring company, in relation to the criteria mentioned in point 4 of these regulations on December 31 of the previous calendar year."

Rephrase sub-point 6.1 in the following wording:

"6.1. the execution of credit transfers in euros, including the submission of relevant payment orders, using:

6.1.1. the service provider's online systems (internet banking and mobile applications);

6.1.2. if the client is a legal entity included in the list maintained by the Bank of Latvia - also an alternative solution for submitting payment order files to the service provider's online system;".

In point 7:

5.1. rephrase sub-point 7.1 in the following wording:

"7.1. the service provider ensures that the interruption of cashless money payment services does not exceed 12 hours per day. Downtime does not include planned service interruptions, for example, system maintenance work;";

5.2. supplement with sub-point 7.2.1 in the following wording:

"7.2.1. if a client - a legal entity included in the list mentioned in sub-point 6.1.2 of these regulations - is unable to submit payment order files using online systems for at least one working day, the service provider ensures the acceptance of payment order files using at least one alternative solution to the online system provided by the service provider, which has been previously agreed with the Bank of Latvia;";

5.3. supplement sub-point 7.4 after the word "euros" with the words "at commercial companies included in the informational list maintained by the Bank of Latvia;";

5.4. rephrase the introductory part of sub-point 7.5 in the following wording:

"7.5. the service provider ensures continuous availability of cash in ATMs, the number of which in the territory of Latvia is not less than that calculated in the manner established in point 7.1 of these regulations (hereinafter - critical ATMs). To ensure the continuous operation of critical ATMs and the ability to obtain cash for the largest possible number of residents, the service provider plans the minimum volumes of cash provided in critical ATMs so that:".

Supplement the regulations with points 7.1, 7.2, 7.3 and 7.4 in the following wording:

"7.1 The number of critical ATMs provided by the service provider is calculated in accordance with the following conditions:

7.1.1. applying the following formula:

A = (B / C) × 100, where

A - the number of critical ATMs provided by the service provider; B - the number of active clients of the service provider on December 31 of the previous calendar year; C - the total number of active clients of all service providers on December 31 of the previous calendar year;

100 - the value denoting the minimum total number of critical ATMs to be provided in the territory of Latvia;

7.1.2. if the value 'A' calculated according to sub-point 7.1.1 of these regulations is less than 15, then the number of critical ATMs provided by the service provider is not less than 15.

7.2 The Bank of Latvia sends information about the total number of active clients of all service providers on December 31 of the previous calendar year to the official electronic address of the service provider by March 1 of each calendar year.

7.3 If, applying the conditions mentioned in point 7.1 of these regulations, it is found that it is necessary to increase the number of critical ATMs provided by the service provider, the service provider implements this by September 1 of the current calendar year.

7.4 In the event of a national emergency, the service provider ensures the operation of all ATMs regularly provided by the service provider to the greatest extent possible, if the circumstances of the respective national emergency case allow. If it is not possible to ensure the operation of all ATMs regularly provided by the service provider in the respective national emergency case, the service provider, by informing the Bank of Latvia, is entitled to make deviations from the requirements established in the Regulations of the Bank of Latvia governing the management of the cash withdrawal service, prioritizing the operation of critical ATMs in compliance with the requirements of these regulations."

Supplement the regulations with sub-point 8.1.1 in the following wording:

"8.1.1. that a critical ATM provided by the service provider must be available in each state city and, to the extent possible within the number of critical ATMs provided by the service provider, in the administrative centers of those municipal authorities that are not located near state cities or other cities where critical ATMs are available;".

Rephrase point 10 in the following wording:

"10. The service provider prepares and submits information to the Bank of Latvia about the critical ATMs provided by the service provider, observing the requirements, procedures and deadlines established in the Regulations of the Bank of Latvia governing the management of the cash withdrawal service, according to which the service provider prepares and submits the list of ATMs provided by the service provider in Latvia and information about any planned changes in the network of ATMs provided by the service provider (ATMs to be installed in a new location or ATMs whose operation is planned to be terminated). The installation, termination of operation or change of location of a critical ATM by the service provider is implemented only after agreement with the Bank of Latvia, except in cases of force majeure, where the service provider objectively cannot comply with the obligation to agree, or in unforeseen cases for the service provider, when operational changes in the network of critical ATMs provided by the service provider are required for reasons independent of the service provider."

Supplement the regulations with point 10.1 in the following wording:

"10.1. The Bank of Latvia, based on information provided by competent authorities, creates and updates as necessary the lists mentioned in sub-points 6.1.2 and 7.4 of these regulations and immediately informs service providers about these lists and changes to them. The service provider ensures compliance with the requirement established in sub-point 7.2.1 of these regulations with respect to persons included in the list mentioned in sub-point 6.1.2 of these regulations no later than one month after receiving information about changes in the respective list."

Supplement sub-point 22.2 after the number "7.2." with the number "7.2.1".
Supplement the regulations with points 30.1, 30.2 and 30.3 in the following wording:

"30.1 Sub-points 6.1.2 and 7.2.1 of these regulations apply from December 1, 2026.

30.2 Amendments to sub-point 7.5 of these regulations regarding the number of critical ATMs to be provided, and points 7.1 and 7.3 of these regulations and sub-point 8.1.1 apply from September 1, 2026.

30.3 The Bank of Latvia sends the lists mentioned in sub-points 6.1.2 and 7.4 of these regulations to service providers by April 1, 2026."

Deputy President of the Bank of Latvia M. Kālis

Details of the legal act

Name: Amendments to the Regulations of the Bank of Latvia of October 9, 2023 No. 252 "Regulations on Critical Financial Services Management..

Status:

In force

in force

Issuer: Bank of Latvia

Type: regulations

Number: 406 Adopted: 15.12.2025. Enters into force: 20.12.2025. Published: Latvijas Vēstnesis , 245, 19.12.2025.

OP number:

2025/245.11

Lineage: No known changes