In 1998 the Russian crisis shook the whole economy and led to a lack of liquidity due to customer withdrawal and deposit currency switches. There are currently 9 commercial banks operating in Lithuania. Both Savings Bank and Agricultural Bank are state-owned and scheduled to be privatized during 2000. Vilniaus Bankas is also the second largest bank in the Baltics after the Estonian Hansapank. Three foreign banks have branch offices and four other foreign banks have representative offices registered in Lithuania.
Foreign capital plays a significant role in the Lithuanian banking sector.
Credit Unions have also intensified their activities in Lithuania although their impact has been relatively modest so far. As of January 2000 there were 34 credit unions operating in Lithuania. Lithuanian banks have experienced steady growth during 1997- 99. The strengthened capital base of the Lithuanian banks has allowed increased lending to local customers. Until February 2000 the Savings Bank was the largest of the Lithuanian banks in terms of assets.