By Andrei Skvarsky
Top executives have quit Barclays‘ Russian subsidiary as the British bank downsizes its retail business in Russia.
Oleg Safonov, head of retailing, stepped down earlier this month after the bank sold part of its regional branch network to Renaissance Group in May. Two other top managers stepped down earlier on, and one more may leave around mid-July, according to a RBC Daily report today. Some of the rank-and-file retailing personnel have been going as well.
The bank is instead planning to push harder at services for wealthy clients in large cities such as Moscow and St Petersburg.
RBC also said Barclays had recently parted company with a major corporate client, Azbuka Vkusa, one of Russia’s main supermarket chains.
Barclays acquired Russian lender Expobank in March 2008 for a top-of-the-market price of $745m. The bank, which has employed about 1,500 staff in Russia, has since rebranded and revamped Expobank’s branches all over Moscow.
The bank hired Nikolai Tsekhomsky as chief executive from Russian state bank VTB to lead its retail and commerical banking operations.
