International Moscow Bank

With a market share of 1.9% International Moscow Bank (IMB) ranks eighth on the Russian banking market. Total assets were US$ 9.4 bn at year-end 2006, 70% higher than at the end of 2005.

The ownership structure of the bank changed with its integration into the new UniCredit Group structure. In 2006 UniCredit Group acquired the shares held by Nordea and by VTB Bank France and also carried out a capital increase of US$ 102 m. At the beginning of January 2007, all the shares were transferred to BA-CA, which now holds 90.03% of the share capital and 95.19% of the voting capital. The remaining shares are held by the EBRD.

The bank more than doubled its profit after tax to US$ 220 m and increased the ROE to 38%.

Retail customers:

In terms of revenue potential, the Russian retail banking market is the largest in CEE. Starting from a low level there have been impressive increases in this segment in the past 5 years, especially in loans to private customers and mortgage loans. This trend should continue and become more pronounced in the coming years, supported by the growing prosperity of the middle class. In response to these developments, IMB adjusted its retail strategy and accelerated its expansion programme. 17 new branches were opened in 2006. IMB now has a network of 47 branches in Moscow, St. Petersburg and in 17 other regions. The number of private customers increased by 77% to 240,000; as lending volume rose by 250% to US$ 850 m, the bank’s market share climbed from 0.9% to 1.2%. The largest increase was recorded in loans to purchase cars. IMB now ranks fourth in this sector with a market share of 6.7%.

Corporate customers:

In 2006 the volume of loans doubled to US$ 5.45 bn and the market share rose from 1.8% to 2.0% – in this segment, IMB ranks eighth in Russia. Half of the top 200 companies in Russia are customers of the bank.

IMB has accelerated its expansion into other regions in the country in this segment and introduced new customised products aimed primarily at medium-sized companies.

Outlook:

The focus in 2007 will mostly be on further growth of private customer business and on business with medium-sized companies outside Moscow. Expansion of the branch network will also continue.