The Board of Directors of European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the Board of Directors of SKB-Bank held meetings on December 12, 2006.

‘This was a very significant event for the banking business of Sverdlovsk Region. The Board of Directors of European Bank for Reconstruction and Development approved of becoming the shareholder of SKB-Bank and decided to give us a line of credit for financing small and medium-scale businesses,’ said Chairman of SKB-Bank Mikhail Khodorovskiy.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development decided to support the bank’s plans to expand its range of small- and medium-scale business and retail client services in the Ural Region in this way. The credit will facilitate giving loans for longer terms than is now generally practiced.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development believes this joint project is going ‘to make the region’s leading bank even more competitive.’ It is also planning to provide SKB-Bank with some technical support within the framework of the Regional Institutions Support Program in order to strengthen its risk-management system in terms of both businesses and retail clients.