A Lithuanian court began bankruptcy proceedings against Ukio Bankas AB at the request of the central bank, which shut the Kaunas-based lender in February because of risky loans to related parties, Bloomberg reported. Kaunas District Court today also issued a decree naming the firm Valnetas UAB as Ukio’s bankruptcy administrator, the court said on its website. The decisions may be appealed within 10 days, according to the statement. Ukio was Lithuania’s fourth-largest bank by deposits when it was closed. The lender’s liabilities exceeded its assets by 1.2 billion litai ($463 million) as of March 18, the Bank of Lithuania in Vilnius, Lithuania’s capital, said last month, citing financial statements prepared by Ukio’s temporary administrator, Adomas Audickas, and auditor KPMG Baltic. The permanent bankruptcy administrator will determine how and when to seek recovery of Ukio’s assets, which include claims on a majority stake in Scottish premier-league soccer club Heart of Midlothian as well as the team’s stadium in Edinburgh, Audickas said in a phone interview on April 30. Read more.
