‘We do not intend to help any other bank recover financially. This is rather hard and not always expedient, since the ‘illness’ tends to be catchy,’ Uraltransbank’s Chairman of the Supervisory Board Valery Zavodov announced in the course of a press conference in Yekaterinburg on December 22, 2008.

At the same time, the executive did admit Uraltransbank might actually acquire some bank.

‘The money obtained from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and Foreign Trade Bank (VEB) will be directed to real sector lending. We are even prepared to offer loans to small and medium-scale municipalities. This would be the organic way of development. Another way is to develop through M&A. If we do decide to buy some other bank’s shares after all, we have to create the reserves to make up for the money spent on the acquisition,’ Zavodov explained.

‘We have great business expectations for next year, expansion among other things,’ he remarked.