Swedbank AB(publ) is looking to expand its operations in the Baltic region, inparticular Latvia and Lithuania, the head of the bank's Baltic unit toldBloomberg News.

Priit Perens said Swedbank will target acquisitions inLatvia and Lithuania in particular, given that its operations there are notlarge enough that further expansion would trigger competition concerns. He reportedlyadded that Swedbank will look to raise its loan-to-deposit ratio in the regionto "just over" 100% from between 85% and 88%.

In March, the Swedish bank, which operates as in Lithuania and asSwedbank AS inLatvia, acquired Danske BankA/S' retail banking business in the two countries.