INTERFAX. South Korean Shinhan Bank has signed a preliminary agreement on the purchase of mid-sized Moscow-based Financial Standard Bank, The Financial Times wrote. The price and other parameters of the upcoming transaction were not disclosed. «We’ve been intensively seeking options to expand our global network in the fast growing region that covers such resource rich countries as Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Russia» — the bank said in a press release.
Shinhan, South Korea’s second biggest lender, set up a subsidiary bank in Kazakhstan recently and it is going to establish another in Uzbekistan. Kookmin Bank, the primary rival of Shinhan Bank, agreed this March on the acquisition of a 30% stake in Kazakh CenterCredit for $634 mln. Shinhan Group, which involves the South Korean bank, reported Q108 net profit of $610 mln or down 35% y-o-y.
Financial Standard Bank, according to the data posted on its website, is a member of the national deposit insurance system, a professional participant on the securities market and operates in all segments of the banking market. The lending institution’s customer base includes over 1,000 enterprises of all ownership forms and individuals. The lender’s charter capital amounts to Rub 245 mln and its assets stood at Rub 2.5 bln as of January 1, 2008.
In Q108, Financial Standard Bank ranked 464th in terms of assets in the Interfax-100 ranking, prepared by Interfax-CEA.
