OREANDA-NEWS. November 19, 2007. Standard & Poor’s has raised SOYUZ BANK’s long-term credit rating from "В-" to "В", its short-term rating from "С" to "В" and its national rating from "ruBBBplus" to "ruА", the press service of the Basic Element reports. The ratings outlook is positive.
 
"The higher ratings were due to the support which SOYUZ BANK’s owner, the financial and industrial group Basic Element, is already providing and will continue to provide," said Standard & Poor’s credit analyst Evgeny Tarzimanov. "We expect SOYUZ to increase its creditworthiness by expanding and diversifying its business in accordance with its strategy. The factors supporting the higher ratings include the BANK’s improved creditworthiness as it diversifies its client base and loan portfolio and its increased capitalisation."
 
"This is a very important and positive development for SOYUZ BANK, especially in view of the economic situation on the Russian and global markets. The higher ratings reflect Basic Element’s support for the BANK. I would also like to note that the two B ratings with a positive outlook and the national ruA rating assigned by Standard and Poor’s confirm that we are moving in the right direction. The improved ratings will allow BANK SOYUZ to continue its balanced development as one of Russia’s leading banks," said Stuart M. Lawson, Chairman of SOYUZ BANK’s Executive Board.
 
"At Basic Element we are very happy that S&P has increased its rating of SOYUZ BANK, one of our most important subsidiaries. We are firmly committed to providing all the support necessary to the BANK and believe that our financial services division is one of the Group’s most important businesses. In recent months, SOYUZ BANK has boosted the number of its private clients by granting car loans and mortgages, and has also begun servicing more small and medium-sized enterprises. Naturally, these developments have resulted in an improved financial performance at the BANK," said Olga Zinovieva, head of Basic Element’s financial division.
 
BANK SOYUZ is a universal commercial bank founded in 1993. After Ingosstrakh-Soyuz acquired three banks in 2004, the bank was renamed BANK SOYUZ.  According to independent rating and information agencies, BANK SOYUZ is among the TOP-30 of Russia’s largest banks. The Russian weekly magazine Profile reported on July 1, 2007 that BANK SOYUZ is the 28th largest bank in Russia according to equity capital and holds 32nd place in terms of assets. RBK-Rating has reported that SOYUZ is one of Russia’s most dynamic banks and from 2003 to 2007 was 16th in the table of the fastest growing banks in Russia. The BANK’s charter capital is 4.1 billion RUR. On November 1, 2007, the BANK’s equity amounted to 9.87 billion RUR and its assets - to 83.40 billion RUR.