Published: 02.10.2023

1 October 2023 marks 25 years since the establishment of an important stronghold of financial stability – the Deposit Guarantee Fund (DGF) – in Latvia. Since that time, it has seen significant development and has meticulously fulfilled its task – to manage the contributions made by the members of the DGF and to ensure the disbursement of compensation to depositors for deposits in case of unavailability of deposits.

During the existence of the DGF, a reliable, efficient and secure component for the financial protection system has been created. To ensure the disbursement of the guaranteed compensation, an efficient disbursement scheme has been established and it has been functional for several years.

In 2022, the DGF developed a new scheme for the disbursement of the guaranteed compensation enabling remote disbursement and receipt of the guaranteed compensation, thus easing the receipt of the guaranteed compensation for depositors. This was made possible due to the merger of Latvijas Banka and the Financial and Capital Market Commission, i.e. by taking advantage of the possibilities offered by Latvijas Banka's payment system and by using the mechanism for the receipt and processing of applications for the guaranteed compensation created in cooperation with credit institutions.

The DGF is constantly developing and improving, and is closely and broadly cooperating with other deposit guarantee funds of the European Union and international financial institutions. A transparent and competitive financial protection system has been enabled by providing the same level of protection coverage across the European Union.

The accumulation and management of the DGF funds and the disbursement of the guaranteed compensation of the DGF is performed by Latvijas Banka. Our future priorities: to continue to strengthen the protection of depositors, to ensure the trust of depositors and to provide equal protection coverage across the euro area.

Briefly on the DGF

  • The DGF was established on 1 October 1998. The members of the DGF started making contributions from 1 January 1999.
  • Since the establishment of the DGF in 1998, the amount of the guaranteed compensation has risen more than 140 times – from the initial 500 lats (around 711 euro) to the current 100 000 euro.
  • So far, during the operation of the DGF, compensation has been disbursed to the depositors of seven banks and six credit unions that have ceased their operation. The guaranteed compensation worth more than 1.3 billion euro has been disbursed to approximately 290 000 depositors of the liquidated banks and credit unions.

Latest News

23.01.2025

Working paper: Monetary Policy Transmission in the Euro Area: Is this Time Different? Chapter I: Lags and Strength

Working paper 1/2025
03.01.2025

Financial market supervision priorities: resilience, business model sustainability, and risk management

Over the next three years, the priorities for the supervision of the...
02.01.2025

Latvijas Banka now accepting applications for EU MiCA licence

As of 2 January, Latvijas Banka, the central bank of Latvia, is...
02.01.2025

Latvijas Banka is issuing an electronic money institution operating licence to SIA Paytegra

The Supervision Committee of Latvijas Banka has issued an electronic...
19.12.2024

The Saeima has appointed Māris Kālis as the acting Governor of Latvijas Banka until a new Governor is elected

Today, on 19 December, the Saeima failed to elect the Governor of...
13.12.2024

Macroeconomic forecasts | December 2024

Latvijas Banka has published its latest macroeconomic forecasts...
12.12.2024

Latvijas Banka is issuing "Cabbage", a collector coin layered with symbolism

On Monday, 16 December, Latvijas Banka will issue a silver...
03.12.2024

One Who Hesitates Is Lost: Monetary Policy Under Model Uncertainty and Model Misspecification

Working paper 7/2024
03.12.2024

Latvijas Banka's plans in the field of statistics until 2028 approved

Today, the Council of Latvijas Banka approved the Statistical...
26.11.2024

Latvijas Banka announces the annual Competition of Student Scientific Research Papers

To promote the research and analysis of Latvia's and the euro area's...
14.11.2024

Financial Intermediation and Climate Change in a Production and Investment Network Model for the Euro Area

Working paper 2024/6
13.11.2024

Impact of sovereign debt maturity on fiscal sustainability

Working paper 2024/5