The net profit of OAO VTB Severo-Zapad (Bank VTB’s daughter enterprise) decreased by 1.6 times in 2009, that is, down to 3.8 billion RUR, the bank reports. In 2008, the company’s net profit amounted to 6.04 billion RUR.

The management of OAO Bank24.ru (Life Group’s asset) announced the potential closing down of the bank’s subsidiaries in Yekaterinburg. ‘What matters to us is that a subsidiary should make a profit. If this is not the case, it’s actually easier to close it down and strengthen another one with the released resources,’ Bank24.ru’s Deputy Chairman of the Supervisory Board Boris Dyakonov said at a recent press conference. Boris Dyakonov did not specify which offices were to stop operating.

The building of Yekaterinburg-based Koltsovo Airport’s mail division has been closed down for thirty days because of fire safety violations, reports the spokesperson for Sverdlovsk Region’s Administration of the Federal Court Officers Service. On February 8, 2010, the court officer of Oktyabrskiy district’s division started the enforcement proceedings on the basis of Yekaterinburg’s Oktyabrskiy district court’s ruling; the court declared that the airport was to stop using the building. So Russian Post Federal State Unitary Enterprise is not operating on the airport’s premises at the moment.

Sverdlovsk Region division of the Federal Antimonopoly Service ruled that Bank of Moscow violated Article 11 (part 1, paragraphs 1 and 5) of the Competition Protection Act, the spokesperson for the division reports. The legal proceedings were instituted against the bank when it was suspected of violating the antimonopoly agreement. ‘The offense consisted in the fact that Bank of Moscow adopted a certain order of issuing consumer loans, car loans, and mortgages to private individuals. Also, the bank signed certain agreements with fourteen Yekaterinburg-based insurers; the implementation of

Governor of Sverdlovsk Region Alexander Misharin took part in the government meeting on economic development and integration in Moscow. The meeting was chaired by Deputy Head of the Russian Federation Government Igor Shuvalov. The agenda covered issues related to the socioeconomic development and industrial diversification of towns with only one major employer (usually a big industrial enterprise). The Governor presented his multi-faceted investment plan for the development of Nizhniy Tagil, Sverdlovsk Region. According to the project, the town’s economy will receive 124 billion RUR worth of