Delta Banka, Serbia’s second largest bank by assets, has been acquired by Banca Intesa, Italy’s biggest bank. The deal will see Intesa acquire either 75% plus one share or, under certain circumstances, 100% of the voting share capital of Delta Banka. It is expected to close early in the second quarter of 2005 subject to approval by the regulatory authorities in each country.

board member, PKO BP
If Piotr Kaminski’s previous stints at Poland’s securities watchdog (KPWiG) and the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE) are anything to go by, the 36-year-old board member of Poland’s mammoth savings bank, PKO BP, is a clear favourite to succeed close colleague Andrzej Podsiadlo as the bank’s next chief executive.

Bank privatisations and stock market listings are on the new government’s financial reform programme as it strengthens its bid for EU accession. Matei Paun reports from Bucharest.

vice-president, Vneshtorgbank
Andrey Suchkov is the head of Vneshtorgbank’s mortgage and consumer credit division and has a good claim to the title “father of Russian mortgages”.
Mortgages have just come of age in Russia and the business of lending money to people to buy their own home is expected to grow from the current $1bn to somewhere over $100bn by the end of the decade.

Alexei Kudrin, Finance Minister, Russia

Russia’s finance minister Alexei Kudrin (right) welcomed the country’s forthcoming adoption of international accounting standards at The Banker’s Top 50 Russian Banks presentation recently, as Stephen Timewell reports from Moscow.

The low capital base of the Russian banking sector is a serious concern; it could hamper the country’s ability to achieve its ambitious growth targets. But there is growth.Stephen Timewell reports from Moscow.
The Russian economy may be growing strongly, with latest GDP growth estimates put at 5.8% in 2004, but Russian bankers are concerned about the low capability of Russia’s banks and their lack of access to long-term funds.

Alexei Kudrin, Finance Minister of the Russian Federation and The Banker’s Finance Minister of the Year, talked to Karina Robinson in London about the challenges facing the Russian economy in what looks like a defining moment in its path towards becoming a liberal market economy.

The CIS banking systems are marked out by the abundance of small banks; weak capitalisation; lack of transparency (particularly with regard to ownership); concentration of business to associated companies; and rapid asset and loan growth. Allied to the possibility of economic and political shocks, this puts them among the riskiest in the world.

Analysis of the Top 50 Fastest Growing Banks in EBRD transition countries reveals a gap between those countries that are near to completing the process of change – such as the new EU members – and those that have yet to begin. Moreover, there is a discernible trade-off between speed of growth and risk to investors.