|
EBRD completes first major Russian banking transaction since the 1998 crisis
The US$ 70-million recapitalisation of International Moscow Bank, Russia’s fourth largest in terms of assets, was completed today with the signing by the EBRD and three international lenders of subordinated loans totalling US$ 30 million. This completes the EBRD’s first major transaction in the Russian banking sector since the 1998 crisis, which wiped out the equity of many Russian banks.
"The EBRD's participation reflects our confidence in the successful future of IMB, the largest privately-owned and fully independent bank in Russia," said Kurt Geiger, head of the EBRD’s Financial Institutions group. "We firmly believe that the future of Russia's banking system depends on the growth of private banks committed to international professional standards, transparency, and good corporate governance."
The EBRD share of the subordinated loans is US$ 25 million, of which US$ 15 million has been subscribed by IMB’s strategic shareholders, Germany’s Bayerische Hypo und Vereinsbank (HVB) and Finland’s Merita Bank, while the remaining US$ 10 million remains on the EBRD’s own books. HVB has subscribed US$ 10 million and Merita US$ 5 million. The final US$ 5 million of the US$ 30 million package has been provided by the Finnish Fund for Industrial Cooperation (FINNFUND). Subordinated loans count as part of a bank’s Tier-2 capital.
Earlier this year, the EBRD acquired a 10 percent stake in IMB for a total of US$ 5.4 million. The strategic shareholders in IMB’s restructured capital are HVB (41.03 percent) and Merita Bank (20.51 percent) – with the rest of the shares held by Banque Commerciale pour l’Europe du Nord (BCEN)-Eurobank, a subsidiary of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, (22.12 percent), EBRD (10 percent), Industrial Bank of Japan (3.46 percent) and the Savings Bank of the Russian Federation, Sberbank, (2.88 percent). The new equity injected into IMB totalled US$ 40 million.
|
