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EBRD acquires stake in Vladivostok-based Primsotsbank
EBRD and IFC jointly gain blocking stake in 3rd biggest regional bank in Russian Far East
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the International
Finance Corporation, the private financing arm of the World Bank, have signed
agreements to jointly acquire a stake of 25 percent plus one vote in the
Vladivostok-registered Primsotsbank, the third largest regional bank in the
Russian Far East.
The investment, the latest by the EBRD in a string of regional banks spread
across the whole of Russia, is aimed at strengthening Primsotsbank’s capital
base, help it expand its operations and enhance its competitive position.
The presence of the EBRD and IFC in the capital of Primsotsbank will
contribute to increasing its transparency and strengthening its organisational
structure, policies and procedures, said Kurt Geiger, EBRD Business Group
Director for Financial Institutions.
Primsotsbank, set up in 1993 and privatised eight years later, pioneered the
introduction of mortgage lending in the Russian Far East and today accounts
for 70 percent of loans on the local mortgage market.
Fast-developing and innovative, Primsotsbank borrowed 90 million roubles from
the EBRD in 2005 for on-lending to small and medium-sized businesses. Its
long-term strategy is to grow into a universal bank providing a wide range of
services to local corporates and retail customers.
Other financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.
In Russia, the EBRD also holds equity stakes in the following banks: Bank
Center-Invest, Bank Kedr, Hansa Bank, International Moscow Bank IMB,
Investment Bank of Kuban, KMB Bank, NBD, Transcapitalbank, Uraltransbank and
URSA Bank. A number of other bank equity transactions have been approved by
the EBRD Board, but not yet completed.
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