Gubernskiy Bank has recently updated the terms of its Gubernskiy Express deposit. ‘The bank’s most popular deposit type is now even more profitable for customers. The interest rate for U.S. dollar and euro deposits is now determined at 12% a year,’ Gubernskiy’s press officer reports. Gubernskiy Bank raised the interest rate on the ruble deposits as well: the rate offered on Gubernskiy Express deposit type and on Retirement Savings one now comes to up to 16.1% a year. ‘A lot of people prefer to keep their savings in foreign currency at the moment, and we respect their choice. To make sure

SKB-Bank’s customers had over 600,000 money orders handled for them by the bank in 2008. ‘This is a record-setting figure, with more than 1,500 money order transactions performed in the bank’s offices daily,’ the spokesperson for SKB-Bank reports. These data cover all the transactions performed through both money order systems and the standard banking money order procedures. As a matter of fact, the number of money orders processed in 2007 only reached about 200,000. Experts believe the increase in the number of such transactions last year had to do with the population’s enhanced economic

12 companies have been excluded from Sverdlovsk Region Builders’ Union recently. The decision was taken by the union’s board after the companies had failed to pay their membership fees in 2007 and 2008. Among the excluded companies are: Domostroy, UKS Holding, Engineer, STKU, Uralmetallurgmontazh, UMPTK Uralmetallurgmontazh, Spasskiye Vorota Insurance Company, Sverdlovskgrazhdanstroy Trust, Insight Corporation, Engineer-Project, Polur, and a state-run company dealing in construction and maintenance of traffic engineering in Sverdlovsk Region’s cities and villages, Sverdlovsk Region Builders’

Uralfinprombank came up with a performance report for 2008. It turns out that the amount of attracted investment went down in the last quarter of the year; nevertheless, the overall efficiency indicators increased in 2008 compared with the data available for 2007. Still, the bank reports the outbreak of the global financial crisis prevented the business from keeping up with the first half of the year’s growth rates. Uralfinprombank’s balance sheet total amounted to 4,107 million RUR in 2008, the volume of attracted resources came to 3,345 million RUR, while the bank’s lending portfolio

Ural Airlines launched more special offers on its Yekaterinburg-Saint Petersburg-Yekaterinburg flights. The airline’s customers can now save more money by booking and buying their tickets at least seven or four days in advance. In case one books and buys a return ticket seven days early, the ticket will cost 10,080 RUR; a single ticket will cost 5,100 RUR. In case one books and buys a return ticket four days early, the ticket will cost 10,580 RUR; a single ticket will cost 5,600 RUR. None of these prices cover the fuel fee, the airline’s press secretary reports. What is more, Ural Airlines is

Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK) has recently adopted a new version of Environmental Policy. The program was drawn up within the framework of the company’s Mission and Strategic Goals; it made the reduction of harmful environmental impact one of the company’s strategic goals. This reduction is also expected to keep MMK’s produce competitive on the global metal goods market for a long time. The Environmental Policy provides for the introduction of a new environmental management system based on ISO 14001:2004 requirements at MMK Group’s enterprises. Then, the environmental security of