On Thursday 24 October, the Saeima appointed Santa Purgaile as the Chairperson of the Financial and Capital Market Commission (FCMC).
Santa Purgaile was nominated for the post of the FCMC head following her success in a public competition that was held in three rounds, with a total of 25 candidates. The new procedure that was approved by the government on 9 July this year, provides that the head of the FCMC is selected in a public competition organized by the State Chancellery.
The winner of the competition, Santa Purgaile, had been working for JSC Citadele banka since 2012, where she initially held the position of Director of Business Development while later, from 2017, the position of the Corporate Customer Service Director. S.Purgaile was also a Member of the Board of Citadele banka during this seven-year period. Since 2017, the potential chairperson of the FCMC Council has also been the co-chair of the Crediting Committee of the Finance Latvia Association. From 2009-2012, Santa Purgaile worked for JSC SEB banka, where she ran the private banking business in Latvia and the Baltic States, while previously she was the head of the Small and Medium-sized Enterprises’ Service Board.
Santa Purgaile holds a Master’s Degree in International Economics and Business. She has completed the management skills program at the Wallenberg Institute (Sweden). S. Purgaile is fluent in English and Russian.
Santa Purgaile commented on her motivation to take the position of Chairman of the FCMC Council: "As a patriot of this country, I believe that my mission is to contribute to a consistent, balanced and upward economic development of the country, the formation of a sustainably-minded society and a healthy, safe and reliable environment for every citizen and every honest entrepreneur. I believe that my experience that I have accumulated over nearly 25 years, will contribute to the development of Latvia's financial and capital market, and will help to regain international reputation of the financial sector of Latvia".
The Selection and Conformity Assessment Commission was chaired by Jānis Citskovskis, Director of the State Chancellery, and was composed of Minister for Finance Jānis Reirs, Member of the Council of the Bank of Latvia Mārtiņš Kazāks, Head of the State Security Service Normunds Mežviets and Head of the Financial Intelligence Unit Ilze Znotiņa. Three representatives of associations of the Financial Sector Development Council participated in the meetings of the Selection and Conformity Assessment commission in advisory capacity: President of the Latvian Insurers Association Jānis Abšins, Member of the Board of the Finance Latvia Association Jānis Brazovskis and Chairman of the Board of the Latvian Payment Services and Electronic Money Institutions Association Dmitrijs Kačanovs.
Santa Jirgensone
Consultant of the Communication Department
Phone: 67082922
E-mail: santa.jirgensone@mk.gov.lv