Consolidation among Russia's biggest banking institutions is starting to take place as bankers realise that organic expansion will not provide fast enough growth, particularly in the retail sector.
A key deal in this trend is NIKoil Financial Corporation's recent acquisition of a controlling 75% stake in Ural Siberian Bank, the country's 10th largest bank with a nationwide network and assets of almost $1.5bn, as at the end of 2002.
NIKoil Financial, which is not a bank, has equity capital of $600m and has become a prime player in Russia's financial markets with involvement in investment, banking and insurance. It controls more than 70% of the Russian factoring market and manages about 50% of the assets of all mutual funds in Russia, with about 80,000 investors.
