Today, the Riigikogu’s special committee on state budget control will hold the last public session of the current composition of the Riigikogu to discuss the large profits of banks operating in Estonia.
Chairman of the Special Commission Tõnis Möldri according to him, the rapid growth of interest rates has inflated bank profits to a very large extent, and to a large extent this money comes from the pockets of Estonian people and companies. Last year, according to the data of the central bank, the banks operating in Estonia earned 566 million euros in profit, which is almost 20 percent more than the year before. “We would like to hear the forecasts of Eesti Pank and market participants regarding this year’s profits, which according to all assumptions should exceed one billion euros,” he said.
According to Möldr, the commission plans to discuss the extraordinary taxation of profits in the situation that has arisen, which has already been decided in favor of several European countries. “We also want to discuss other ways in which banks can contribute more to Estonian society than before. For example, Eesti Pank has recommended to consider whether the banks’ income tax discount has fulfilled its purpose and whether this system should be changed,” he said, and also considered it important to monitor the ratio of the increase in deposit interest rates to loan interest rates. “Currently, deposit interest rates have risen much more slowly than loan interest rates. According to Eesti Pank, this year’s profit forecast for banks provides more opportunities for this,” added Mölder.
The vice president of Eesti Pank will participate in the session of the special commission Ülo Kaasikchairman of the board of the Financial Supervision Authority Kilvar KesslerUndersecretary for Financial and Tax Policy of the Ministry of Finance Evelyn Liivamägichairman of the boards of the Estonian Bank Association and Swedbank Olavi LeppManaging Director of the Estonian Bank Association Katrin Talihärm and the state auditor January Holm. Representatives of SEB Bank, Coop Bank and LHV Bank were also invited to the committee session, but they did not consider it possible to participate in today’s discussion.
The commission’s public session starts at 1:15 p.m. and can be watched in webcast.
Video recordings sessions can be viewed Parliament on the YouTube channel. (NB! Recordings reach the web with a delay.)
