Expert-Ural, the center for business analytics, came up with a report on the Urals and Western Siberia’s lending markets performance in the first half of 2008. The analysts report the Ural consumer lending market rose by 12.9% between January 1, 2008 and June 1, 2008 (compared with the 20.6% growth a year earlier), SKB-Bank’s press officer reports.

The center compiled a rating of the Urals and Western Siberia’s twenty-five largest banks and major players on the consumer lending market. SKB-Bank, with its 13.4 billion RUR worth of loans to private individuals in the first half of 2008 (26.7% better than in January-June 2007), was declared the region’s No.1 in terms of consumer lending volume. This was the case a year earlier as well.

All in all, nine Sverdlovsk Region-based banks, five banks from Tyumen Region, five banks located in Chelyabinsk Region, two banks from Perm Territory, two banks based in Orenburg Region, one bank from Bashkortostan and one bank with HQ in Udmurtia were featured in the rating.