OREANDA-NEWS. January 09, 2014. In January 2014 OJSC Bank Saint Petersburg is planning to complete a transaction on acquisition of a 100% interest in Bank Evropeisky (Kaliningrad).

The transaction has already been approved by the Bank's Supervisory Board and is shortly expected to be ratified by the Central Bank of the Russian Federation.

In November 2013 Bank Saint Petersburg, the leading Russian regional bank, has announced its development strategy for 2014–2017 setting the Bank's target for the upcoming 4 years to build an efficient financial institution with a scalable business model that could expand towards new regions of presence.

Mr. Alexander Savelyev, Chairman of the Management Board of Bank Saint Petersburg: “Our Kaliningrad branch has been successfully carrying out its business for 6 years. We have used this time to explore this region and we now see great opportunities for its economic development. Therefore we chosed it as a pilot region where we can test the implementation of our scalable business model. This acquisition will allow Bank Saint Petersburg to use Bank Evropeisky’s branch network and customer base, develop retail business and SME lending and control over 10% of the banking services market in Kaliningrad and the Kaliningrad Region.”

Mr. Bogdan Yarovoy, Chairman of the Management Board of Bank Evropeisky: “Bank Evropeisky is one of the largest banks in the Kaliningrad Region which has been active in the regional market since 1991. The acquisition by such a strong shareholder as Bank Saint Petersburg will provide us not only with greater financial strength, but also with a new impetus for further market share expansion. Our customers will get an access to the most advanced banking service technologies provided by Bank Saint Petersburg. At the same time, the bank will retain its key approaches to business strategy, while the senior management team will continue its efficient customer-oriented efforts regardless of the change of ownership. The expansion of one of the top 15 Russian banks will positively effect the city's and the region's economy development."

Bank Evropeisky has its operations in Kaliningrad and the Kaliningrad Region focusing on corporate banking. The bank has over 4,000 corporate customers representing such industry sectors as transportation, machine building, metallurgy, construction, wholesale and retail trade and food industry, as well as more than 20,000 retail customers. Its branch network consists of 6 outlet offices and 29 ATMs. As at October 1, 2013, the Bank was ranked 245th in terms of assets among Russian banks (according to Interfax).