On July 1, 2010, OAO METCOMBANK launched its new Visa Virtual bank card. This virtual card was designed specially for online transactions. Like any regular bank card, Visa Virtual has its unique number, validity period, and bank account. However, one can only use it to pay online, for example, for train or airplane tickets or in any online store. ‘The new card is targeted at modern urbanites that often make online purchases. The card allows the cardholders to differentiate between the online and other expenses and makes it unnecessary to provide any regular bank card details online, which

On July 10, 2010, Ural Airlines is to introduce its new cabin luggage rules. Thanks to its upgraded aircraft and relying mostly on the European concern’s Airbus airplanes, which have more spacious luggage compartments, the company can now allow its passengers to take bigger and bulkier items with them to the cabin, the airline’s press officer says. What is more, the weight of the passengers’ cabin luggage is now not counted as part of the free luggage allowance. Under the new regulations, business/comfort class passengers can also take two pieces of luggage to the cabin with them, as long as

Expert-Ural, an analytical think tank, came up with the list of Russia’s Top5 e-banks for private individuals. Telebank, offered by OOO Koltso Urala Commercial Bank, was featured 4th in this rating alongside with some big federal market players. The analysts looked into several parameters of e-banks along three basic categories: Functions (the number of services and settings), Online Penetration (the access to all of the bank’s services through e-banking), and Standard Payments (the number of contractors that payments can be made to using one form). According to Expert-Ural’s findings, Koltso

The public prosecution authorities of Sverdlovsk Region checked the local dwellers for compliance with registration and migration rules recently. As a result, numerous violations of the rules were detected and the culprits had to face administrative liability, the spokesperson for the authorities informed UrBC. In fact, over 450 cases of non-compliance with the federal law were revealed in the course of the checks, which resulted in 128 orders (84 of which have already been considered and enforced). Besides, sixty-one people had to face administrative liability. Since the beginning of the

OAO SKB-Bank offers a unique opportunity to its customers: one can have a settlement account opened free of charge in any of the bank’s Yekaterinburg offices between July 1, 2010 and August 15, 2010, the bank’s press service reports. What is more, all the customers who take advantage of the offer will be provided with free m-banking services until the end of the year. To find out more about the terms of the offer, visit SKB-Bank’s website or call the 24/7 contact center at toll-free number 8-800-1000-600.

The Government of Sverdlovsk Region has been given a 708-million-ruble loan for motorways development. The money is to be directed to the region’s three key objects: a major road junction in Yekaterinburg, a portion of Yekaterinburg orbital motorway, and a portion of Serov-Khanty-Mansiysk road, the region’s Minister for Transport and Roads Sergey Shvindt announced at a press briefing that followed the regional government’s meeting. ‘3.9 billion RUR worth of the regional budget’s money was originally provided for road-building for the year 2010. We then obtained a state loan for 708 million

The Profile Business Magazine recently carried the rating of Russia’s largest banks in terms of net assets. OAO SKB-Bank was featured 57th on the Top100 list. According to the data provided by the magazine, SKB-Bank’s net assets amount to 58,107,384,000 RUR; this is one of the most impressive figures in Sverdlovsk Region and Ural Federal District. All in all, three Ural banks have actually made it to the list of Russia’s Top100 banks. The magazine’s analysts compared the banks in terms of capital volume as well. SKB-Bank was thus declared No.1 among the Urals-based banks and Russia’s 61st

Once Russia has entered the Customs Union, some changes were made in the current customs law regarding the shipping of express parcels. Each parcel now has to be declared individually using a passenger declaration, which means the receiver’s passport details must be provided. The new rules also state that the receiver of the parcel or a customs broker might have to be personally present at the customs, which certainly slows down the customs traffic. In addition, the new customs code modifies some limitations that were earlier used at the Russian border. It is now possible to import up to 50kg

The Ural Bank for Reconstruction and Development was given the status of a partner bank within the state program on the financial aid to small and medium enterprises. The program is currently being implemented by the Russian Development Bank. The money the UBRD has been offered will be used to give loans to SMEs and sole traders. ‘The long-awaited access to cheap loans that the government has promised will be welcomed by the businesses operating in Sverdlovsk and Chelyabinsk Regions, Perm Territory, and the Republic of Udmurtia,’ the bank’s press officer explains. The SMEs can use the loans

Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MMK) has gone through the second stage of getting its automobile body sheets accepted by the foreign car makers and car parts manufacturers. The second stage involved MMK producing a series of pilot batches of high-strength hot rolled metal DP600 (in accordance with ТС 14-101-683-2008 standards) and S355MC (in accordance with EN 10149-2:2007 standards) as well as cold-rolled metal products HX220YD, HX220PD (according to DIN EN 10292:2005) and zinc-coated ones HX260LAD, HX300LAD, and HX340LAD (according to DIN EN 10292:2007) and DX54D (according to DIN EN

The revenues of Novolipetsk Iron & Steel Works (NLMK) decreased by 6% in the first quarter of 2010 compared with the fourth quarter of 2009 and amounted to $1.697bn, the company’s consolidated financial report says. The enterprise’s representatives explain the drop in revenues had to do with the declining prices and having to sell less expensive products. NLMK’s net profit went down by 55% in the first quarter of 2010 against the last quarter of 2009 and came to $132m. At the same time, the company’s net debt rose by 20%, that is, up to $955m. The company’s assets were estimated at $13bn

‘ComsoMall shopping center will probably be opened in September 2010; on July 7, a presentation for the future tenants will be organized by the company. The exact opening date is currently being settled,’ DVI Holding’s press service reports. In fact, this is not the first time the developer has postponed the opening date. In March 2010, DVI Holding announced the shopping center would start operating in June 2010, whereas the original deadline was set for February 2009.

‘The administration of Ural State University of Economics (USUE) cannot possibly claim any advantage over the land allotment in Shartash area of Yekaterinburg because this territory has been reserved for Ural Federal University’s campus. Everything related to overall planning and design documentation is being handled by Ural University Complex run by Alexander Salamatin. This business has no connection with USUE whatsoever. The better part of the allotment in question belongs to the federal authorities, with smaller portions of municipal and regional land. In whichever case, this land belongs

The Ural division of Rostechnadzor (the state environmental, technological, and nuclear safety watchdog) is now looking into the causes of a fatal accident at United Company RUSAL’s Sevuralboksitruda (SUBR) Kalyinskaya mine. Some seismic event with the magnitude of 2.1x104 J occurred in the mine, 1,040 meters below the ground, at 4:00 AM (local time) on July 2, 2010. The event caused the collapse of a round tumbler meant for mine cars unloading within the vault; as a result, two of OOO SUBR-Stroy employees were injured, one of them lethally. The ad hoc committee is to announce the causes of

The Russian Motor Insurers Union took four companies that dealt in the obligatory third party car insurance policies off their list of motor transport insurers. These companies are: Ural AIL, Perm; Vest-Akras, Ryazan; Natsionalnoye Kachestvo, Moscow; Skif-Tver, Tver. The decision to this extent was made by the Union’s Board. Now the companies who no longer hold a membership in the Union have no right to issue any obligatory third party car insurance policies.

Enel completed the regional stage of its PlayEnergy project in May 2010. ENEL Group’s international education/entertainment initiative has been implemented in Sverdlovsk Region for the second time this year through the involvement of Reftinskaya state district power plant (Enel OGK-5) and the schools of Reftinskiy and of some neighboring settlements. All in all, over 1,500 children and young people (school-goers aged 11-17 and students of Asbest polytechnic vocational school) could join the world of energy with ENEL. PlayEnergy provides students and teachers with free materials for organizing

Sberbank of Russia’s Ural branch voiced its suspicions regarding Omega Group Holding: the bank claims the company is trying to avoid paying off the loans Sberbank gave to OOO Omega Spirits Group, OOO Noviye Restorany, Magnum strong drinks chain store, OOO Omega Opt Trading, and OOO Zolotoy Reserve, Sberbank’s recent release states. Omega Group enterprises have been using Sberbank’s loans since 2004. So far, six loan agreements have been signed with the bank. The first overdue debt issues popped up in April 2010, with the sum of such debts reaching 1.26 billion RUR by June 28, 2010. Sberbank

OAO Severstal and OAO Uralvagonzavod reached a compromise on the rolled metal goods delivery in the third quarter of 2010. ‘Under this agreement, the two parties reached an understanding and agreed on the same prices that were set for the second quarter of the year. The monthly deliveries volume was fixed at up to 2,000 tons of metal,’ Severstal reports. The deliveries in question will comprise some metal boiler sheets for Uralvagonzavod. In fact, Severstal only made one shipment to Uralvagonzavod in the second quarter, the company’s press officer explained. The two parties then signed a

It was reported at VSMPO-Avisma’s annual general meeting that the company’s net profit decreased by 15.3 times in the year 2009 compared with the year 2008, that is, down to 175 million RUR. Besides, the corporation’s production output dropped by 26.5%. The company’s stockholders decided that the dividend for the year 2009 should amount to 1.5 RUR per share, whereas a year earlier, the per-share dividend came to 23.14 RUR.

OAO Ural Instrument-Making Plant was included in the list of companies whose debt to the Russian Federation budget reached more than 1 million RUR by June 15, 2010. This news is available via the official website of Russia’s Federal Tax Service’s Sverdlovsk Region division.