Joint-Stock Company Development Finance Institution Altum (ALTUM)
What we are
The international credit rating agency Moody’s Investors Service has assigned to Altum an investment grade rating Baa1 with a stable outlook. The assigned rating is among the highest ratings ever assigned to the capital companies of Latvia. The rating was assigned on 15 June 2017.
The head office of ALTUM is located in Riga with 20 functional departaments. ALTUM also includes 5 primary branches and 16 secondary branches that provide customer services throughout the territory of Latvia. The institution has more than 230 employees.
What we do
ALTUM is the first national development finance institution in the Central and Eastern Europe to issue Green bonds. Green minded financing instruments is used to support sustainability projects in Latvia, as well as is an opportunity to diversify ALTUM’s funding base and support development of the Baltic Bond market.
Mission
We help Latvia grow!
Vision
To be a partner and financial expert in economical development.
Our values
- Team - We work professionally in a unified team together with our customers and partners, thereby creating and implementing effective state aid programmes that are relevant to our client's needs.
- Excellence - Making use of our experience and creative perspective, we strive for excellence in everything we do. We constantly develop ourselves. We take on the complicated, yet finish with simplicity. We look at things and challenges creatively.
- Responsibility - We strive to reach our goals, pursue everyday work with efficiency, fairness and respect.
Areas of Operation
- Support for business start-ups and encouraging self-employment
- Support to stimulate entrepreneurship – business development and improvement of competitiveness, implementation of technologies and innovation
- Support for rural enterprises and regional development
- Facilitating export
- Development of venture capital industry
- Support for the start-up ecosystem
- Improving energy efficiency
- Administering the Land Fund's operations
- Support for purchasing housing for families with children
History
State Joint-stock Company Development Finance Institution Altum is founded with a purpose to create a single national scale development and finance institution in order to implement various state aid and development programmes.
JSC Development Finance Institution Altum (ALTUM) was established on 27 December 2013 by an order of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Latvia. All ALTUM voting shares belong to the Latvian state.
The establishment of ALTUM was held in two stages by combining 3 state-owned institutions:
• during the first stage three state-owned institution’s JSC “Latvian Development Finance Institution Altum”, LLC “Latvian Gurantee Agency” (hereinafter LGA) and JSC “Rural Development Fund” (hereinafter RDF) shares were transferred to JSC “Development Finance Institution”, thereby creating a concern of financial institutions.
• during the second stage was a reorganization process – JSC “Latvian Development Finance Institution Altum”, LGA, RDF were merged into JSC “Development Finance Institution” and ceased to exist without a liquidation process. This stage was completed on 15 April 2015, thereby creating new unified institution with new name JSC “Development Finance Institution Altum”.
The newly created JSC “Development Finance Institution Altum” (ALTUM) took over all of the rights and obligations, including contract obligations with clients and partners of JSC “Latvian Development Finance Institution Altum”, LGA and RDF.
Consolidated Institutions
- JSC “Latvian Development Finance Institution Altum” (until 1 January 2014 – JSC “Mortgage and Land Bank of Latvia”)
- LLC “Latvian Gurantee Agency” (LGA)
- JSC “Rural Development Fund” (LAF)
JSC “Latvian Development Finance Institution Altum”
Founded on 19 March 1993 as state-owned JSC “Mortgage and Land Bank of Latvia” based on a directive by the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Latvia. During its entire period of operations under assignment by the government, the institution implemented different state aid and development programmes, providing support for specific categories of businesses and residents.
On 1 November 2011 the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Latvia supported JSC “Mortgage and Land Bank of Latvia” commercial part sale strategy. On the basis of this decision, JSC “Mortgage and Land Bank of Latvia” commercial services provision was incrementally discontinued of until 30 September 2013.
Starting with 1 January 2014, JSC “Mortgage and Land Bank of Latvia” continued its operations under the name JSC “Latvian Development Finance Institution Altum”, continuing to provide national support services for clients and implementation state aid programmes while simultaneously implementing other the government's delegated task.
LLC “Latvian Guarantee Agency” (LGA)
Founded in 1998 with a purpose to ensure support for entrepreneurs in attracting finances in cases where they're not adequately provided for. LGA implemented the following state aid programmes: credit guarantees, mezzanine loans, export credit guarantees, risk capital microloans.
JSC “Rural Development Fund” (RDF)
Founded in 1994 and its main area of focus was ensuring state aid to rural entrepreneurs in cases where they are insufficiently provided for in credit.
RDF implemented the following programmes: credit guarantees and credit fund loans, as well as in cooperation with JSC “Latvian Development Finance Institution Altum” provided loans for land purchases to be used for agricultural product production.