Jason Corcoran in Moscow
British bank Barclays has hired Nikolai Tsekhomsky as chief executive from Russian state bank VTB to head up its global retail and commercial banking business in Russia.
Tsekhomsky, who has only just stepped down today from VTB after four years as its chief financial officer, will takeover from Sergey Radchenkov, who has led the bank since its acquisition of local lender Expobank in July 2008. The appointment of Tsekhomsky is subject to approval from the Central Bank of Russia.
The offer of the position to Tsekhomsky was confirmed to EmergingMarkets.me by Barclays and several senior sources at VTB.
Barclays’ reacquired Russian lender Expobank in March last year for $745m. The bank, which employs 1,500 staff in Russia, has since rebranded and revamped Expobank’s 36 branches in western Russia.
Analysts said last year the $745m price tag, at four times Expobank’s net asset value, was hefty but that the acquisition was relatively small and gave Barclays a place in a fast growing market.
In a statement, the chairman of the board of directors of Barclays in Russia Hans-Joerg Rudloff, said: “This is an important step in the strategic development of Barclays in Russia and integral to Barclays ambitions to diversify internationally. We are optimistic about the growth opportunities in Russia and remain committed to the market in the future,” he added.
Rudloff told this journalist in April the bank was a launching a fresh campaign in Russia and would be building out further in investment and commercial banking, as well as retail.
Rudloff is one of the best connected bankers operating in Russia. As the former chief executive of Credit Suisse First Boston, he famously sent bankers Stephen Jennings and Boris Jordan to Russia to scout for deals in the early 1990s. The pair became involved in the state’s pilot voucher auctions and soon left to set up investment bank Renaissance Capital.
The German-born financier is a director of several Russian companies, including oil giant Rosneft which he helped to facilitate its $10bn IPO in 2006.
Tsekhomsky joined VTB with a specific remit to spearhead it the bank’s $8bn initial public offering on the London Stock Exchange, which is the second-largest listing by a Russia company.
Domestic press and investors have criticised the bank followed the IPO as the bank’s share price has plummetted by 70%.
He has previously been chief financial officer for Renaissance Capital and financial controller for Brunswick, a Moscow brokerage subsequently sold to Switzerland’s UBS. Prior to joining VTB, he was chief financial officer at MTS, one of Russia’s leading mobile telecommunications companies. He started his career as an auditor as Ernst & Young.
Barclay’s investment subsidiary BarCap has steadily been growing its Moscow operation over the past year having hired extensively for back and middle office functions. A senior hire to head up the investment banking team is expected with a number of senior Russian bankers in the frame.
Alexander Zakharchenko was recruited about a year ago as head of M&A advisory from ABN AMRO in Moscow. A handful of junior bankers have also been hired but headhunters are expecting a spate of new mandates following Tsekhomsky’s appointment.
The bank yesterday announced the expansion of its global investment banking business with the hire of Rothschild’s global co-head of financial institutions, Stefano Marsaglia, as chairman of its worldwide financial institutions group.
Tsekhomsky has been replaced as chief financial officer at VTB by Herbert Moos, who had been executive of VTB Bank Europe, an investment arm of VTB.
A VTB spokeswoman said no decision had been taken yet about a replacement for Moos. “Herbert will stay with us to help with a transition until we announce someone for the role,” she said.
VTB’s own investment banking arm VTB Capital has grown quickly to over 500 bankers since launching a little over a year ago. It has quickly emerged as a leading player in debt capital markets.
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