The Constitutional Court is preparing the case for hearing but is yet to set a date. It was thought earlier that this matter would not get moving until 2014 at the earliest. Some signals in the market now show that this could happen by the end of this year, according to Eversus.lt.
"If the Constitutional Court decided that the existing provisions of the Law on Banks go against the Constitution and the law were changed, then all tier four creditors could expect to recover around 1.54 billion litas," said Dovilė Burgienė, a partner with the law firm LAWIN.
She said that Snoras' tier four creditors include companies registered both in Lithuania and outside the country, as well as private individuals. Snoras informed the website that 428 creditors on the list are registered outside the EU and represent "the overwhelming majority by the number of creditors' claims."
The lawyer estimates that if the claims by Indelių ir Investicijų Draudimas
and those of tier four creditors were satisfied proportionately, they could all expect to receive 0.615 litas (EUR 0.178) for every litas claimed.
Claims made by Indėlių ir Investicijų Draudimas total 4 billion litas, which amounts to the value of Snoras' assets given in the bankrupt bank's report for the third quarter of 2012. Tier four creditors' claims total around 2.5 billion litas.
The Lithuanian government nationalized Snoras in November 2011. A court opened bankruptcy proceedings against the bank in December. The bank is currently in the process of liquidation. Its bankruptcy administrator, Neil Cooper, is now trying to sell its assets.
