Recorded live at Baltic Fintech Days in Riga, this conversation with Žygimantas Stankevičius, partner at Tegos Law Firm and head of their banking and finance practice, cuts straight to what is actually happening in Baltic fintech right now, not what the brochures say.
With nearly three decades in the industry spanning traditional banking at DNB and Luminor before moving to legal advisory, Jigantas brings a rare ground-level perspective on how dramatically the regulatory landscape has shifted. He breaks down why Lithuania went from rolling out the red carpet for hundreds of fintechs to now assisting more clients with market exits than new license applications, and what that signals for the region.
The conversation covers why predictable regulation and tax stability matter more than low barriers to entry, how payment infrastructure access through the Bank of Lithuania became a genuine competitive advantage, and whether the Baltic states are genuinely cooperating or quietly competing for the same pool of international investors and talent.
On MiCA, the picture is sobering. The expected wave of crypto license applications has not materialised the way anyone hoped, and Jigantas explains exactly why. What is growing instead is M&A activity, with major names like Lloyds Banking Group and Zilch moving into the region through acquisition rather than greenfield licensing.