‘The amount of money an organization can give to a bank solely depends on how much it believes in the bank’s strategy and potential. In case of Uralvneshtorgbank, this confidence is obviously very strong,’ the Assets Management Director of Unicom Partner Investment and Finance Company Vitaliy Kalugin said to UrBC representative relating to two subordinate loans recently obtained by Uralvneshtorgbank.

The bank received $20m from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, with credit payments to be made for the next seven or up to nine years, and $10m from the International Finance Corporation (the investments division of the World Bank); all credit payments are to have been made by 2013.

‘Getting the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development to invest in them does a credit to Uralvneshtorgbank, as this lender is famous for its careful investment policy and being choosy in terms of partnership. If Uralvneshtorgbank has been given a loan, it means the foreign investors really trust it,’ Mr Kalugin said.