Expanding the kingdom of Ukranian commerce

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London, Beijing, Prague and Amsterdam - just a few names on the list of cities where representative offices of Ukrainian banks could appear.

Ukranian banks are planning to organize a pilgrimage into foreign markets. There, they are planning to lay the foundations of their work in affiliate banks, subsidiaries and representative offices. Ukranian banks are mostly looking towards Russia. An affiliate of Dnipropetrovsk Privatbank - Moskomprivatbank - has been operating in Moscow for several years now. Soon, two other Ukranian banking institutions will come to settle in the Russian capital. UkrSibBank is planning to complete its acquisition of a local bank, which it will rename UkrSibBank, and VABank is planning to open a representative office in Moscow.

While the opening of a representative office was organized relatively quickly, the acquisition proved more time-consuming. Nevertheless, according to UkrSibBAnk Boerd Chairman Oleksandr Adarych, the main problems have been resolved, and Kharkiv?s bank has already received permission form Russia?s Central Bank and its Anti-monopoly Ministry for the acquisition of one of Moscow?s small banks. In fact, Ukranian bankers are not planning to limit themselves just to the neighboring markets. According to All-Ukranian Joint-Stock VABank chairman Petro Pereverzev, besides Moscow, the bank is planning to open representative offices in London and Beijing.

Giving prediction for the future, bankers say that they could access two financial markets that they are currently unfamiliar with - Czech and Dutch - and are assessing the possibility of opening representative offices in Praque and Amsterdam.

By Natalia Sergyenko

Kyiv Weekly

Febraury 18-25,2005