By Andrei Skvarsky. Moscow Exchange has a new feather in its cap now that Qiwi, a top-notch provider of electronic payment services in Russia and the CIS, opted for the bourse as one of the floors, along with NASDAQ, for trading its American depositary shares (ADSs) after a successful IPO in the United States. {{{?}}} Co-managed… Continue Reading
RenCap appoints global co-heads of investment banking
By Andrei Skvarsky. Russia’s Renaissance Capital has announced two senior promotions, appointing two bankers as global co-heads of investment banking. One of the appointees is Alexander Merzlenko, who has been president of Renaissance Capital Russia since December 2012 and will combine this position with his new job. The other is Ron Golan, who joined RenCap… Continue Reading
RenCap chief resigns, ex-Merrill banker comes in to run global equities
By Andrei Skvarsky. Russia’s Renaissance Capital has parted company with its chairman and co-chief executive John Hyman, who has overseen the Moscow-based investment bank’s transition from being a money-losing to a profitable business. {{{?}}} Simultaneously, RenCap, which is part of billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov’s Onexim Group, hired ex-Merrill Lynch banker Benjamin Samuels as head of global… Continue Reading
Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley to co-manage Alrosa IPO
Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley, and Russia’s VTB Capital and Renaissance Capital will co-manage a planned IPO announced by Russia’s Alrosa, the world’s main diamond producer, on Wednesday. Alrosa will offer a 16% stake for sale on Moscow Exchange, the state-controlled company, which produces 94% of Russia’s diamonds, said in a statement. Continue Reading
Sberbank gives ex-Renaissance Group banker senior job at HNWI unit
Sberbank has hired Rudolf Scherrer from Russia’s Renaissance Group as deputy head of private banking. Scherrer who took up his job in the high-net-worth individuals division of Russia’s largest lender on September 27, Sberbank said in a statement. Previously he spent 12 years in a series of Switzerland- and Russia-based positions at Credit Suisse before… Continue Reading
Sberbank increases majority stake in venture with BNP Paribas
By Andrei Skvarsky. Sberbank, Russia’s biggest lender, has enlarged to 74% from 70% its stake in Cetelem Bank, its Russian retail joint venture with BNP Paribas. The increase marks the closure of a deal between Sberbank and BNP Paribas Personal Finance, the French bank’s retail unit, announced in July. Sberbank is currently transferring its car… Continue Reading
EXCLUSIVE: Accuity launches bespoke PEP screening software for Russian market
By Andrei Skvarsky. Business data provider Accuity, part of Anglo-Dutch publisher Reed Elsevier, is launching a unique risk assessment tool tailored for the Russian banking sector – a database to enable banks to screen potential customers from among politically exposed persons (PEPs) more efficiently than its predecessors. {{{?}}} The database, whose main purpose is to… Continue Reading
Sberbank’s investment arm hires bankers from UBS, Merrill
Sberbank CIB, the investment arm of Russia’s biggest lender Sberbank, has made two appointments in its global markets department, hiring Nicholas (Nick) Harwood from UBS as head of equity and Sascha Prinz from Bank of America Merrill Lynch as head of rates in the fixed income, currencies and commodities unit. Harwood held London- and Johannesburg-based… Continue Reading
Lombard Odier banker: Russia’s slowdown has nothing to do with “middle income trap”
By Andrei Skvarsky. Swiss bank Lombard Odier’s investment chief has brushed aside a common theory that blames Russia’s current economic slowdown on a “middle income trap”, a situation where a rapidly developing economy practically stalls when incomes reach a certain level. {{{?}}} The source of the problem are balance of payments (BOP) dynamics, Paul Marson… Continue Reading
Japan govt lending Sberbank $600m to pay for imports
By Andrei Skvarsky. Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), is to provide Sberbank, Russia’s top lender, with a series of long-term loans to a total of $600m to finance Russian imports of goods and services from Japan under an agreement signed last week. “We have been working with JBIC for a few years already and… Continue Reading
Sberbank becomes agent of $750m syndicated loan for Ukraine govt
Russia’s Sberbank became the underwriter of a recent $750m syndicated loan for Ukraine’s government. “This is the first time that Sberbank has provided a loan to Ukraine and therefore is an important step towards future cooperation,” the biggest Russian lender’s investment arm Sberbank CIB said in a statement. Sberbank CIB was the loan’s technical organiser. Continue Reading
EBRD appoints new Head of Yerevan office
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has appointed Mark Davis as the new head of the Yerevan Resident Office. Davis is replacing Valeriu Razlog, who has been appointed as Senior Banker in the Natural Resources team at the EBRD’s headquarters in London. Prior to taking up the position at the EBRD, Davis was… Continue Reading
Citi, Credit Suisse, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley to offer DMA to Moscow Exchange
By Andrei Skvarsky. Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley are going to begin to offer their clients direct market access (DMA) to trade in Russian securities on Moscow Exchange this month. Two other major global banks are expected to follow suit later this year, Russia’s largest trading platform for equities, bonds, derivatives and currencies said… Continue Reading
Sberbank’s Turkish arm plugged into MoneyGram network
By Andrei Skvarsky. Sberbank’s Turkish operation Denizbank is expected to become the biggest Turkish agent for global money transfer company MoneyGram under a recent agreement. {{{?}}} The deal plugged one of Turkey’s top lenders into the network of a remittance firm that runs successful business in 198 countries but last year admitted to fraud charges… Continue Reading
Moscow Exchange makes six senior hires
By Andrei Skvarsky. Moscow Exchange has announced six hires for top roles in its risk management, primary markets, investor relations and IT services. Luis Vicente was appointed as head of risk and clearing at the National Clearing Centre, which is part of Moscow Exchange, the bourse said in a statement. His 16 years of risk management experience include… Continue Reading
EXCLUSIVE: Russian broker BCS wins No. 1 spot in Moscow Exchange’s forex trade
By Andrei Skvarsky. Russian prime broker BCS claimed the number one spot in ruble trading on Moscow Exchange’s foreign currency market last month. {{{?}}} This was the first time the Moscow-based firm with an international outlet in London made it to the top rung on the bourse’s ruble trading floor, Luis Saenz, the brokerage’s head… Continue Reading
EBRD invests in Russian IT outsourcing provider MAYKOR
The EBRD has joined forces with the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and the CapMan Russia II Fund, a private equity fund in which the Bank is an investor, to support MAYKOR, the leading Russian IT outsourcing and service provider. The three partners will invest up to USD 100 million in a series of stages… Continue Reading
EBRD invests in leading Turkish textile company
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development continues to boost Turkey’s Anatolian regions, making a €3.7 million loan to Kivanc Tekstil, a leading producer of clothing fabrics and yarn based in Adana. Kivanc Tekstil, 100 per cent owned and controlled by the founding family of the same name, has successfully operated in the textile sector for… Continue Reading
New Appointments for Otkritie Bank’s Management
Otkritie Bank has appointed Chairman of the Managing Board, following the approval by the Bank’s Board of Directors and the Bank of Russia. In his new capacity, Evgeny Dankevich will be in charge of the Bank’s strategic development and general management. Evgeny will resign as Otkritie Bank’s President and Board of Directors Chairman, while remaining on Otkritie… Continue Reading
Hong Kong becomes strengthened hub for East Capital Asia team
East Capital is to concentrate its Asian operations in Hong Kong, bringing together a strong team led by Karine Hirn, Partner and Co-Founder of East Capital. East Capital first established its presence in the region in Hong Kong in 2006, and in 2010 opened a second office in Shanghai. East Capital’s Asia team investing in… Continue Reading
Chinese Investors Target London Real Estate
Asian markets with similar cultural backgrounds such as Thailand, Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia are among countries being targeted by Chinese insurance funds that have more than US$14 billion available for overseas real estate investment, according to the latest research report from global property adviser CBRE. {{{?}}} The prime targets are high transparency markets including… Continue Reading
The Appeal of the Emerging Markets in the Current Economy
As a financial market trader, it is important to understand that the discipline requires a certain amount of determinism. There are underlying laws that govern financial market change, and these must be deciphered and clearly understood if people are to achieve their dreams of profitability. Take the emerging markets, for example, which have typically outperformed… Continue Reading
Sberbank says inflation growing source of worry for Russians
By Andrei Skvarsky. A survey by Sberbank suggests that inflation is a bigger concern for Russians today it was than a few months ago. {{{?}}} Declining unemployment is partially offsetting inflationary concerns, according to Sberbank CIB, the investment arm of Russia’s biggest lender. But inflation was flagged as a major macroeconomic problem by 63% of… Continue Reading
RenCap hires bankers from Alfa Bank, Barclays for senior equities roles
By Andrei Skvarsky. Russia’s Renaissance Capital has made two senior hires for directorships in its equities team. Ilya Lobanov, who joins from Russia’s Alfa Bank, will work in the equity sales team in Moscow and Harry Stanford, who arrives from Barclays Capital, in the London-based equity sales unit, RenCap said in a statement. Lobanov takes… Continue Reading
Sberbank says Russia doing better than other emerging markets
By Andrei Skvarsky. At a time when few analysts are upbeat about the current state of Russia’s economy, Sberbank has released a research piece arguing that the country has a set of major advantages over other emerging markets. {{{?}}} “Russia enjoys a current account surplus, is close to fiscal breakeven, and has a flexible currency,… Continue Reading
Prudential Real Estate Investors Announces Eric Adler
Prudential Real Estate Investors announced Eric Adler as chief executive officer of the company. Adler, currently the company’s chief investment officer, joined the company in 2010 as head of its European operations. He was promoted to chief investment officer in January 2013 to oversee the company’s global investment and risk management processes as part of the company’s… Continue Reading
EBRD invests in Turkey's first infrastructure bond
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is supporting Turkey’s first ever infrastructure bond with a US$79.5 million participation in a US$ 450 million Eurobond, launched by Mersin International Port (MIP), the private operator of the port of Mersin, on the Mediterranean coast in southern Turkey. The debut bond will be used for refinancing an… Continue Reading
VTB Capital appoints Head of International Coverage and Head of International Global Banking
Andrew Cornthwaite has been appointed Head of International Coverage and Head of International Global Banking at VTB Capital. Andrew will be based in London and will report operationally to Riccardo Orcel, Deputy CEO of VTB Group, Head of Client Coverage at VTB Bank and Global Banking at VTB Capital, and regionally to Atanas Bostandjiev, CEO, UK… Continue Reading
EBRD provides €190 ml loan for wood processor Krasnospan
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has signed two separate long-term loans, which will provide up to €190 million for the construction by Kronospan – a privately held global leader in the wood-based panels market – of new production facilities in Russia and Belarus. Both plants are designed to use low quality wood… Continue Reading