The Latvian bank in which Dermot Desmond holds a stake is moving into the aviation finance business by offering customers funding for executive jets.

Rietumu Bank, in which Mr Desmond is a shareholder through Boswell (International) Consulting, said yesterday that it recently funded a new Gulfstream Jet, which have a list price of $65 million, for one of its bigger international customers.

The institution loans the money to customers to fund the purchase of Gulfstream jets.

The US company is a leading manufacturer of executive aircraft.

Board member Renats Lokomets said that more of its customers doing business in the Commonwealth of Independent States (the former Soviet Union), Europe and the rest of the world wanted to buy the jets.

He confirmed that the bank was planning to loan the money for the jets to more of its customers.

As a consequence, Latvia could move to being a private aviation finance centre.