UrBC, Yekaterinburg, February 3, 2017. SKB-Bank was among Sverdlovsk Region’s top five banks in terms of deposit portfolio volume, the bank’s press service refers to Kommersant Publishing as stating. The bank is currently Russia’s 30th largest bank with great customer service and appealing deposit terms. Private customers have deposited 74.9bn RUR with SKB-Bank so far, which is 5bn RUR more than the figures Kommersant quoted on October 1, 2016.

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, February 2, 2017. The wheel department at EVRAZ Holding’s Nizhniy Tagil Integrated Metallurgical Works (NTMK) now works longer hours, EVRAZ Holding Ural’s press office reports. ‘We took on an extra team of people for the wheel treatment section in order to meet our Russian customers’ rising demand. This will increase our wheel machining output and the entire department’s productivity. The output increase is expected to reach 20%,’ the press office says. The plant also keeps working to improve its production processes and wheel machining techniques as well as to make its

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, February 2, 2017. Ural Airlines launched a plane seat replacement campaign, which means all customers will soon be able to enjoy the modern and comfortable Dragon Fly seats made by Zodiac Seats France, the air carrier’s press service reports. One of the company’s Airbus 320 aircraft was the first airplane to get improved Economy Class seats. Business Class seats were also partially replaced or repaired to ensure more comfort during flight. The other planes will get new seats installed during their scheduled C checks and D checks at the airline’s Aviation Maintenance

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, February 2, 2017. The Ural Bank for Reconstruction & Development’s customers spent over 936m RUR on season’s shopping on December 15-31, 2016, which is comparable with the figures for December 2015. ‘However, last year’s figures were also 10% below those for the December 2014. Also, UBRD debit card holders spent 13.5m RUR on beauty industry services, which was nearly 50% less than in December 2015,’ the bank’s press service reports. The amount of money spent at restaurants and cafes (176.5m RUR) went down by 10%, that directed to buying clothing and footwear items

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, February 2, 2017. Sverdlovsk Region’s retail trade turnover amounted to 1,054.2 trillion RUR in January-December 2016, which was 5.5% below the figures for the year 2015, Sverdlovsk Region Ministry for Economy & Territorial Development refers to Sverdlovskstat as stating. The catering industry’s turnover reached 51.8bn RUR, which was 16.4% less than in the year 2015 (56bn RUR).

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, February 2, 2017. Yekaterinburg public transport fare rose from 26 RUR to 28 RUR per single trip on February 1, 2017; the decision was made by Sverdlovsk Region Regional Energy Committee on January 13. Yekaterinburg authorities also adjusted the cost of electronic monthly passes (the so-called Ekarta). The price increase will be felt most keenly by people on social welfare benefits, as their monthly pass will now cost as much as 1,000 RUR instead of the usual 426 RUR. At the same time, if they buy a ten-trip pass, this will cost 200 RUR (only 10 RUR more than before), and

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, February 1, 2017. The first B10M2 bulldozer with hydromechanical transmission gear left Ural Vagon Zavod Corporation’s Chelyabinsk Tractor Plant’s new assembly line, the company press service reports. The bulldozer went through all the assembly stages from getting fitted with caterpillar track unit and attachable units to getting coated and prepared for final shipment to customer. It took the plant very little time to get the new assembly line ready: the setup began in mid-November and was over in slightly more than a month. The line is now located on the site where an

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, February 1, 2017. EVRAZ Holding’s Yerunakovskaya 8 Mine produced 3,000,000,000 kg of coal last year, EVRAZ Holding Siberia’s press office reports. This production record was made possible due to the entire workforce’s joint efforts, with Alexander Lyane’s and Alexei Korshunov’s teams making a special contribution. ‘Despite the challenging mining and geological conditions and increased gas content in the mine section we are currently working on, Yerunakovskaya 8 remains the production leader. Alexei Korshunov’s team processed 460 meters worth of rock mass last December,

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, February 1, 2017. The Ural Bank for Reconstruction & Development (UBRD) opened yet another branch for private customers in Saint Petersburg. Komendantsky Branch can be found at 1 Ilyushin St Bldg 1. According to the bank’s press service, the opening hours are from 9:30 AM to 8 PM on weekdays and from 11 AM to 5 PM on Saturdays. Private customers can apply for loans and debit/credit cards, make money orders, and set up deposits and current accounts there. The branch pertains to the so-called street retail format: a mini-outlet with no cash desk and only an ATM/payment

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, February 1, 2017. SKB-Bank was rated Yekaterinburg’s third best bank based on customer feedback, the bank’s press service refers to spavin.ru’s rating as stating. SKB-Bank also proved Russia’s eighth best bank. The web portal sravni.ru comes up with rating estimates based on three key criteria: customer complaints/retail turnover ratio, the average score customers provide in their feedback, and the bank’s reply to queries/customer queries and complaints ratio.

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, February 1, 2017. Rosselkhoznadzor, customs, and Federal Security Service officers confiscated and destroyed 2,757 kg of sanctioned fruit and vegetables in Yekaterinburg today. According to Rosselkhoznadzor’s Sverdlovsk Region division’s press service, import-embargoed foods were found at Warehouse 4 during a pop-up inspection. Crates full of napa cabbage (1,134 kg) and apples (180 kg) were marked as coming from Poland and those full of pears were marked as coming from Guinea over Belarus, which is against the existing regulations. There were also 423 kg of cauliflower of

UrBC, Moscow, January 31, 2017. The number of construction companies on the private housing co-operative market (Federal Act 214-FZ) that went bust doubled and reached 1.8% last year compared with the year 2015, Kommersant refers to RASK as stating. According to RASK, 149 companies out of 5,500 ones currently operating on the market are undergoing bankruptcy proceedings. The insolvent companies are leaving behind some 4.5m m2 worth of incomplete housing projects. Many of the developers are forced to declare themselves insolvent since they cannot get their projects commissioned: loans are

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, January 31, 2017. Sverdlovsk Region-based customers owe their electric power supplier EnergoSbyt Plus more than 14.3bn RUR in unpaid bills, the company press service reports. The overall debt amount exceeded 7.5bn RUR in early 2017, rising by 700m RUR in the course of one year; electric power debt exceeded 6.8bn RUR. ‘The power supplier is faced with the need to protect its interests and the interests of paying customers by all possible means. 1,111 claims (total amount: 4.908bn RUR) were placed with Sverdlovsk Region Arbitration Court last year, of which 583 claims

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, January 31, 2017. The average credit card limit amount went down from 61,114 RUR on January 1, 2016 to 52,691 RUR on January 1, 2017 (-13.8%) for Sverdlovsk Region-based cardholders, National Bureau of Credit History’s press service reports. According to the Bureau, 68.6% of cardholders actually used up their entire credit card limit in the last quarter of 2016 (+8.1% on the third quarter). Credit utilization rose most noticeably in Kamchatka (+40.9%), Kursk and Belgorod Regions (+36.3% and 34.4%, respectively) and dropped most visibly in Kalmykia (-15.4%), Altai

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, January 31, 2017. The international aircraft giants Boeing and Airbus might no longer be buying titanium from VSMPO AVISMA, Verkhnyaya Salda, President of Ural Chamber of Commerce & Industry Andrei Besedin says. ‘Both Titanium Valley and the Mid-Urals Development Corporation, as well as Sverdlovsk Region Ministry for Investment & Economic Development, are painfully aware of where our negotiations with Boeing and Airbus are going. The time is coming when they won’t need our titanium any longer, as their entire designer teams are working to switch to completely new

UrBC, Moscow, January 31, 2017. ChTPZ Group recently launched a trainee program to invite promising students and undergraduates onto their plants, the company press service reports. Over fifty students from Bauman Moscow State Technical University, National University of Science and Technology, Gubkin Russian State University of Oil & Gas, Higher School of Economics, and Ural Federal University have already been enrolled. They are currently working through their internships in Moscow, Chelyabinsk, and Pervouralsk as engineers, white-collar professionals, and managers. ‘The trainees are

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, January 30, 2017. Sverdlovsk Region’s school libraries are going to get new books published with support from SKB-Bank, the banks press service reports. The bank-sponsored books will be given to libraries as gifts. One of them is a work of fiction called A Blockade-Burned Life and focuses on memories of Leningrad wartime residents who came to the Urals and Yekaterinburg (then known as Sverdlovsk). Some copies have already been presented to local public libraries and Yekaterinburg schools. The book came out in Yekaterinburg in 2015-2016 upon Wartime Leningrad Union’s

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, January 30, 2017. The Ural Bank for Reconstruction & Development and Harbin Bank Co Ltd signed a bilateral agreement on trade financing in December 2016; this is part of an earlier cooperation agreement, the bank’s press service reports. Under the terms of the new contract, both parties promise to finance their customers’ export/import transactions with their Chinese partners. Any currency can be used for the purpose, including the Chinese renminbi and U.S. dollars. ‘Chinese banks are known for their cautiousness and a conservative approach to business. I see an

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, January 30, 2017. Sinara Development is now offering special terms to customers looking to buy a new home in Volgograd. If you sign a sale/purchase agreement before March 31, 2017, you are entitled to a 150,000-ruble discount, Sinara Group’s PR Department reports. Also, special terms are offered to those planning to buy their new home on a mortgage. ‘For those considering a mortgage, Sinara Development came up with a 1,000-ruble discount on every square meter, which will reduce the overall interest burden. If you buy a one-bedroom apartment that is 55 m2 big, for example,

UrBC, Yekaterinburg, January 30, 2017. Rosset’s Federal Grid Company United Energy Systems upgraded the high-frequency choke units at its 220-kilowatt Kholmogorskaya-Kogalym main in Western Siberia, the company press service reports. The goal is to make electric power transfer between Yamalo-Nenetsky and Khanty-Mansiysky Autonomous Regions more reliable, as this is where the key oil and gas companies are based. Three high-frequency chokes at the 500-kilowatt Kholmogorskaya Station in Yamalo-Nenetsky Autonomous District were reinforced with suspended insulators to improve their performance in