‘The regional banking services market developed more dynamically in 2006 than one year earlier,’ Andrei Yemelyanov, Strategic Development Director of Ural Bank for Reconstruction and Development, said to UrBC.

‘This development can be traced in the financial indicators of the banks’ activity. The natural person deposits, for instance, grew by 67% against 64% in 2005, the loan portfolios increased by 75% against only 32% a year earlier. Legal entities started investing more as well; their share of deposits went up 84% against 75% in 2005. On average, the banks offered fewer loans to individuals: the figures only went up 117% in 2006 compared to 156% in 2005; yet this slowing down had been predicted well in advance,’ Mr. Yemelyanov said.

‘The year 2006 was the year of stable development for the banks; most market trends were determined by the earlier ones and could therefore be easily foreseen. These include the increasing popularity of mortgage lending, expanding networks of regional and federal banks, mergers and takeovers,’ he noted.

‘Our development strategy is similar to that of many Russian federally important retail banks. There are, however, a few distinct features: we want to stay independent and choose our policies without having to consider the interests of other banks or of financial-industrial groups; besides, we are very client-oriented. The regular monitoring surveys indicate that 92% of our clients are happy with the services we provide,’ Mr. Yemelyanov explained.