In  the  first  9  months  of 2002 JSC "Pirmā banka" has significantly

increased  its  business  and  surpassed  the  average  ratios  for the

industry. Loan portfolio has grown 1.6 times since the beginning of the

year,  and  has reached LVL 78.5 million. The bank has made a profit of

LVL  1.46  million  in  9  months  (also owing to successful securities

trading),   thus  surpassing  the  profit  initially  budgeted  at  the

beginning  of  the  year.  According  to our previous reports, the Bank

management already increased the profit forecast for the year up to LVL

1.5 million, which is by 60% more than the initial forecast. The profit

made by now nearly 5 times exceeds the profit earned in 2001.

Simultaneously,  JSC  "Pirmā  banka"  is  continuously  modernising and

upgrading its branch office and settlement group network: in August and

September  two  new  branch offices were opened downtown Riga, while in

October a new mortgage lending centre was opened.