About the Barometer
The Latvian Capital Market Activity Barometer (hereinafter – the Barometer) is a unique analytical review of its kind in Latvia, established by Latvia's leading investment bank, Signet Bank, and the national information agency LETA. It combines historical and current data regarding local capital market activity. It provides insights into the dynamics of capital market development based on quantitative and qualitative data, reflecting the perceptions of market participants – investors, entrepreneurs, and the media – regarding capital market opportunities.
By combining statistical indicators with the evaluations of market participants, the Barometer allows for more than just a quantitative assessment of market activity; it provides a comprehensive look at market development trends, growth obstacles, and the motivation of participants to utilize capital market financial instruments.
To date, two Barometer reports have been prepared. The first covers the period from 2018 to 2024, marking the trajectory of the Latvian capital market's formation during a time when the market was still in a relatively early stage of development. Meanwhile, the latest report analyses the dynamics of 2025, a year when the capital market reached a higher degree of maturity and showed record-high results in the bond issuance segment.
Moving forward, the Barometer will be updated annually, providing a comparable and data-driven perspective on the pace of Latvian capital market development and participant activity.
Purpose of the Barometer
The objective of the Barometer is to create a transparent and reliable information source that helps entrepreneurs, investors, politicians, industry professionals, and society at large better understand the processes and long-term potential of the Latvian capital market, while providing an opportunity to follow market development on a historical scale.
The Barometer is an important tool for promoting financial literacy, emphasising the significance of the capital market in financing local companies and the sustainable development of the national economy. It fosters a deeper understanding of the capital market's importance and serves as a practical tool for market participants, helping to identify key factors influencing the use of the capital market.
“Capital market development in Latvia is not just a financial issue – it is our collective ability to think more ambitiously about the future of the national economy.”
In recent years, the Latvian capital market has reached a stable stage of development, demonstrating consistent progress toward growth. Assessing the market dynamics within the scale of the Latvian economy, progress has been significant – much greater than sometimes interpreted when comparing Latvia to larger or more developed markets.
“Investor activity in the local capital market continues to grow and capital is available – the challenge right now is on the supply side, especially in the stock segment."
Investors – The Driving Force Behind the Market
Signet Bank Latvian Capital Market Activity Barometer
(2018=100)
Overall, investor activity continues to grow in terms of both investment volume and the number of transactions. Market turnover increased by 24% y/y, while the number of transactions grew by 10%. This indicates that the average investment amount per transaction is becoming larger. This trend may mean that individuals are directing more funds specifically toward investments, and that institutional investors are becoming more active.
The main barrier to greater use of the capital markets among entrepreneurs remains a lack of knowledge and understanding.
Capital markets are becoming more accessible and easier to understand in practical terms, but the key challenge is increasingly shifting toward awareness and perception. The latest survey data from entrepreneurs highlights the need for continued, systematic efforts to strengthen financial literacy, with a particular focus on the practical application of capital market instruments and their benefits for business growth and development.
The range of financing options available in Latvia is objectively expanding, but this is not always fully reflected in how entrepreneurs perceive their options. Awareness remains concentrated around traditional and government-supported financing instruments, while capital market solutions still require more targeted communication, explanation, and education.
The potential of Latvia’s capital market will largely depend on how successfully greater accessibility can be translated into genuine understanding and practical use.
Overall, 44% of entrepreneurs say they have heard of capital market opportunities. Bond issuance is known to 27% of entrepreneurs, IPOs to 26%, and raising capital from investment funds to 35%.
Publicity Analysis Methodology
A significant component of the Barometer is an analysis of media coverage of capital market-related topics in the Latvian media. The analysis was conducted using STATION, the media monitoring database of LETA, Latvia’s national news agency.
The analysis examined six topic blocks using print media and internet portal materials: capital market, bonds, share issue, IPO, Nasdaq Riga, stock exchange listing. Multiple topic blocks may be mentioned in a single media piece; in such cases, the mention is counted for each block.
In total, the keywords were mentioned in 13,950 articles in 2025, potentially reaching 394 million people (number of mentions x media audience)
Topic mentions
January-December 2025
The Media Environment as a Foundation for Strategic Capital Market Decisions
In 2025, capital market coverage in Latvian media was highly concentrated around a small number of companies and specific financing instruments. The majority of publications consisted of business news related to corporate fundraising, bond issuances, and investment projects, while political discussion accounted for a relatively small share of the overall media agenda.
Overall, this indicates that capital market communication in Latvia has yet to become fully structured and consistent, and remains largely shaped by a limited number of high-profile projects rather than by a broader and sustained policy or economic debate. At the same time, the growing presence of capital market topics in the media serves as an important driver of information and trust-building, which is directly correlated with investor activity.
Topic mentions
January-December 2025
The reflection of the capital market in media influences investor perception, financial literacy in society, and investment decision-making. In recent years, the Latvian financial and media environment has undergone rapid development – both the supply of local capital market instruments and public interest in investments are increasing.
Using qualitative analysis methods, media researcher Raivis Vilūns analyses how Latvian media reflected capital market subject matter in 2025 – which content frames were used, which topics dominate, and what narrative trends are identifiable.
Main questions sought to be answered: in what frames do Latvian media present capital market subject matter in 2025 and what thematic accents and message tones dominate in headlines and introductions?
Study Authors and Data Partners
The authors of the Barometer are capital market experts and investment analysts from Latvia's leading investment bank, Signet Bank. The study they developed includes a compilation of Latvian capital market development data, analysis of historical and current trends, as well as the specially developed Barometer formula – a methodology that allows for evaluating market activity dynamics.
The study's partner is the national information agency LETA, which performed qualitative and reliable media data analysis. LETA data analysts compiled information on the reflection of the capital market in the Latvian media space, providing insight into public opinion formation and the development of capital market topics in the information environment.
The study's media content analysis partner is media researcher Raivis Vilūns, a candidate for a doctoral degree in communication science, who performed a qualitative analysis of the thematic framing of media publications. The study allows for identifying dominant thematic accents, message tones, and communication trends, providing a deepened insight into how capital market subject matter is interpreted and reflected in the Latvian media space.
The Latvian entrepreneur financial sentiment survey was conducted in cooperation with the media agency Mindshare Latvia in February 2026. 505 Latvian company owners, managers, CFOs, and other leading specialists participated in the survey, providing their assessment of the financial situation, availability of diverse financing, and the business environment, as well as development plans for the near future. Furthermore, the Barometer includes entrepreneur sentiment survey data from previous years, obtained in the period from 2023 to 2025, thus ensuring the opportunity to analyse development dynamics and long-term trends.
In the first Barometer analytical review, we looked back at capital market historical development, investor interest, and entrepreneurs' financial literacy levels, marking a moderate-paced but productive development achieved over five years. As in any development process, one can always desire faster growth; however, one must also consider our market scale, economic power or capacity, as well as institutional ability to make timely and well-considered decisions.
The latest Signet Bank entrepreneur survey data in the context of financial literacy confirms that development is not a linear process – capital market literacy and activity also require continuous work and investment. Fluctuations in the awareness of financing instruments indicate the need to maintain focus on systematic education and explanation. Future growth will depend on several interrelated factors – the involvement of state companies in the capital market, growth in market volume and fundraising, targeted financial literacy initiatives, high-quality and deepened media content reflection, as well as the formation of new local corporate examples demonstrating the practical significance of the capital market in business development.
Capital market development is determined not by one decision or one event, but by consistent action and a clear long-term direction. Currently, Latvian capital market development is asymmetrical: strong in the bond segment but insufficient in the stock market. To achieve a qualitative breakthrough, targeted and coordinated action is necessary, where the state takes more active leadership, thereby creating a clear direction and a signal of trust for the entire market.
The Latvian Capital Market Activity Barometer is a tool that allows for looking at the market systematically – through data, trends, and perception analysis. It helps in making informed decisions and defining next development steps. The Barometer will be updated annually, ensuring a consistent assessment of the capital market growth rate and direction.
