INTERFAX. Igor Kim, co-owner of the member banks that form the alliance led by URSA Bank, is going to attract international investors to gain stakes in the capital of Rostpromstroybank. Negotiations are currently under way with potential investors, he told the media in Rostov-on-Don. He was not able to say whether or not foreign investors will be attracted using additional shares or otherwise. «I plan to take foreign investors on board and I do not know so far how this will be achieved» — he said without disclosing the amount of a stake he is going to sell, but pointed out that «he’ll retain a controlling stake».
Furthermore, Kim said that the plan is to up the charter capital of Rostov-based bank South Region. «We mull increasing South Region’s charter capital substantially, around Rub 400 mln by issuing additional shares» — he said. He noted that SME lending will be a priority area of business for Rostpromstroybank and South Region in the short-term outlook.
Kim also said that he mulls some acquisitions in the regions. «I’m in acquisition talks with ten banks in various regions» — he said, but failed to say how many deals could be transacted this year. «This is a difficult question. If everything depended only on me, I would strike ten deals» — Kim pointed out.
He went on to say that at present there are no any specific plans to merge the banks that make up the alliance. According to him, business consolidation is possible, but this is not an end in itself for him. «I do not rule out the consolidation, I’ll simply do it when I am 100% sure that I will see (following consolidation efforts) a positive synergetic effect» — he said.
For the record, the alliance that URSA Bank leads consists of Etalonbank (Moscow), Vostochny Express (Blagoveshchensk), South Region (Rostov) and Rostpromstroybank.
