OREANDA-NEWS. September 17, 2007. 15 October 2007, in line with the upcoming merger of JSC IMPEXBANK and ZAO Raiffeisenbank Austria, the “Krasnodarsky” branch of IMPEXBANK, located at 155/1 Krasnaya Street, Krasnodar, will be closed. The additional “Kubanksky” office of Raiffeisenbank will continue to operate at the same location. The branch closure was planned and approved by decision of the Board of Directors of JSC IMPEXBANK dated 25 June, 2007.

Conditional to consent, clients of the “Krasnodarsky” branch will be transferred to the customer base serviced by ZAO Raiffeisenbank Austria. No initial deposit will be required in order to open new accounts with Raiffeisenbank. The annual service fee on bank cards issued to IMPEXBANK customers will be cancelled for the entire loan period; the annual service fee on IMPEXBANK current account debit cards will not be collected during the first year of service.

Legal entities, including small and medium businesses, and likewise individual entrepreneurs in the Krasnodar Territory, have been able to transfer to ZAO Raiffeisenbank Austria as of June, 2007 on privileged terms and conditions. Previously signed agreements according to cession contracts are transferred to Raiffeisenbank without any changes to the terms of the contracts. Many of the small and micro enterprises which have transferred from IMPEXBANK have already obtained new business development loans from Raiffeisenbank and have taken advantage of the Bank’s convenient employee salary scheme.

Commenting on the closure of the “Krasnodarsky” branch of IMPEXBANK, Chairman of the Management Board of Raiffeisenbank Johann Jonach said, “Krasnodar is the first region where clients of IMPEXBANK and Raiffeisenbank, both private individuals and legal entities, have been offered a common range of services. This became possible after the necessary technology was installed, and all related preparations, including branch staff trainings, had been conducted. We continue to focus all our efforts on developing this process efficiently and on ensuring maximum comfort for our customers.”

JSC IMPEXBANK remains fully liable in terms of its obligations to clients of the “Krasnodarsky” branch. Once the merger JSC IMPEXBANK and ZAO Raiffeisenbank Austria is completed, all rights and obligations of JSC IMPEXBANK to its creditors and debtors will be assumed by ZAO Raiffeisenbank Austria in accordance with articles 58 and 59 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, and article 15 of Federal Law as of 26 December, 1995 “On Joint Stock Companies”. The scope of the rights and obligations and their content shall remain unchanged.

ZAO Raiffeisenbank Austria and OAO IMPEXBANK are subsidiaries of Raiffeisen International Bank-Holding AG. In 2006 Raiffeisen International purchased 100% shares of IMPEXBANK. Together Raiffeisenbank and IMPEXBANK form the largest foreign-owned banking group in Russia, ranking 7th in terms of assets among top Russian banks based on H1 2007 results (Interfax-CEA). Raiffeisen Group is ranked 6th in terms of corporate lending based on H1 2007 results (Interfax-CEA). According to Interfax-CEA, the banks together ranked 4th in Russia in terms of private deposits and 5th in consumer lending in Russia based on H1 2007.

Raiffeisen International Bank-Holding AG (Raiffeisen International) operates the largest banking network in CEE. 18 markets of Europe's growth region are covered by subsidiary banks, finance leasing companies, two representative offices and a number of other financial service providers. About 12.7 million customers are attended to through more than 2,950 business outlets. Raiffeisen International is a fully consolidated subsidiary of Raiffeisen Zentralbank Osterreich AG (RZB), which owns 70 per cent of the common stock. The remaining 30 per cent is free float, the shares are traded on the Vienna Stock Exchange. RZB is a leading corporate and investment bank in Austria and the central institution of the Austrian Raiffeisen Banking Group, the country's largest banking group.