‘URSA Bank and MDM-Bank’s principal shareholders talk the same language and aim to make the new holding Russia’s leading private bank. This is why coming to an agreement was easy enough. It became clear early in the negotiation process that our goals coincide,’ URSA Bank’s BOD Chairman Igor Kim announced at a press conference in Novosibirsk.

Igor Kim feels this is an unprecedented deal scale-wise.

‘This is something yet unique to Russia’s banking system. The impact made by the current crisis can be seen as not being very significant, since the merger talks started as early as a year ago, and they will only be through in twelve or eighteen months’ time. I hope that by that time, both the markets and the country’s financial system will have grown much more stable,’ Kim added.

‘There aren’t going to be any dramatic changes in the course of our consolidation. Every step and every measure will be economically calculated. All of the united bank’s stockholders are very competent people who understand the great synergetic implications of the process. In fact, it’s hardly possible to find two other Russian banks that could complement each other as perfectly as URSA Bank and MDM-Bank can,’ Igor Kim said.