EBRD invests in equity of private Russian bank | WPN World People News

The EBRD has today committed to subscribe to newly issued ordinary shares of Russia’s RosEvroBank as part of a two-stage equity investment of up to 1.9 billion roubles (equivalent to €45 million), involving the acquisition of both new and existing shares in this successful private bank.

This transaction, when completed, will give the EBRD an 11 per cent stake in the country’s sixth biggest lender to the small business sector.

The full stake will make the EBRD the largest international minority investor in RosEvroBank ahead of Renaissance Investment Management which holds a 9.5 per cent stake and Germany’s Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH (DEG), whose share is 5.7 per cent.

“The signing of an equity investment at a time of market turbulence is an additional sign of the EBRD’s confidence in the potential of the Russian banking system in general and RosEvrobank in particular,” said the EBRD’s Managing Director for Financial Institutions, Nick Tesseyman.

“By providing extra capital to a bank which managed to show record profits in 2010 only two years after successfully weathering the Russian banking system’s liquidity crisis at the end of 2008, the EBRD is strengthening RosEvroBank’s capacity to grow its loan portfolio and develop further,” Mr. Tesseyman added.

RosEvrobank’s corporate governance is in full compliance with Russian regulations, but additionally the bank is determined to bring itself in line with international best practices. The EBRD, which is ready to play a role in this thanks to its investment, will have the right to nominate a candidate for election to RosEvroBank’s board of directors.

Source: European Bank for Reconstruction and Development