‘GranComBank shareholders are thinking of selling the business to Converse Group in the first half of 2006,’ Chairman Dmitry Kotsyuba announced at the recent briefing.

‘The decision was actually made about two years ago; banking business used to be considered super profitable but the experience of the last couple of years speaks of the opposite. Everybody is having a rather hard time at the moment as large Moscow banks push the smaller crediting organizations away from the market,’ Mr Kotsyuba said.

UrBC reported the possible transaction as early as October 2005.