Foreign Banks Cut Back in Russia
Foreign banks are adjusting their development plans in Russia, forcing their Russian subsidiaries to cut back regional programs, halt some forms of crediting and plan their expenses more carefully. The Russian market looked promising when the world financial crisis brought on by the U.S. mortgage crisis began. Experts estimate that there was $30 billion in foreign money invested in Russia at the beginning of last month but, developments on the Russian financial market in September led to the outflow of $8 billion. Standard & Poor’s lowered Russia’s credit rating by one level last month. All that has led to changes in the plans of foreign banks, which had remained quite active in Russia until now.
Credit Europe Bank, the controlling package in which belongs to the National Bank of Greece, is reexamining its policy on its regional network and has declared a hiring freeze. Home Credit Bank, part of the Czech Home Credit Group and one of Russia’s largest consumer crediting organizations, has announced that it will no longer provide credit for home or auto purchases and that it will cut back on staff. ICICI Bank Eurasia, a subsidiary of ICICI Bank of India, has announced that it is halting it new mortgaging program. Swedish Swedbank, a newcomer to Russian banking, has no plans for expansion.
Rosbank, on the other hand, has increased interest on consumer deposits. “We have received confirmation that, in case of necessity, we will receive financial aid from our French shareholders Societe Generale,” stated forst deputy chairman of Rosbank Igor Antonov.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Oct. 03, 2008
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