The Ural Bank for Reconstruction and Development was promoted by nine positions in Russia’s Top 100 largest banks (in terms of asset volume) by Interfax-CEA. The center’s research based on the data available as of September 30, 2008 featured only six Ural Federal District-based banks in the final Top 100 ranking. The Ural Bank for Reconstruction and Development was the one with the fastest-growing assets against the other Ural banks. The bank’s asset volume increased by 31.5% in January-September 2008 and reached 49,995,200,000 RUR. ‘As a matter of fact, the net debt amounted to 32.5% of our

It was six years ago when MOTIV GSM network run by MOTIV Telecommunications Group was launched after some thorough testing and trials. ‘Every year since has brought our customers some new improvements like unique tariffs, services, and special offers,’ the spokesperson for the company said to an UrBC reporter. The number of MOTIV’s mobile subscribers reached 1,491,515 on November 1, 2008, including 1,474,348 customers who use the company’s GSM network. The company’s client database rose by 15% in 2008 alone. The network now covers 557 cities and towns where 95% of Sverdlovsk Region’s dwellers

Bank UBS AG raised the share it has in Concern Kalina’s authorized capital from the earlier 5.05% to the present 12.23%.

Maxi Group’s extraordinary general meeting resulted in the decision to allow the company’s GD to sign an additional agreement that would accompany the earlier surety Maxi Group had signed with Bank Petrokommerz regarding its liabilities on the credit line. The company reports the agreement will state that the term of the credit line’s availability would be shifted from March 22, 2010 to December 12, 2008, while the interest rate on the loan would be raised from 13% to 14.5% a year.

MegaFon and the German Vodafone D2 GmbH are going to launch two-way GPRS roaming services this November. This means that, as of November 5, 2008, all of MegaFon’s regional subsidiaries have their GPRS roaming services available in 210 networks based in 110 different countries which, in their turn, offer their services in 122 countries.

Ural Airlines resumed its scheduled Yekaterinburg-Kulyab-Yekaterinburg flights after a five-month break. This flight to Tajikistan (flight number 2979) is available every Saturday; the plane takes off in Yekaterinburg at 5.10 AM and arrives in Kulyab at 8.25 AM; then, there is flight 2980 from Kulyab to Yekaterinburg (departure time — 10 AM, arrival time — 1.15 PM), the spokesperson for the airline reports. In fact, the number of business passengers as well as tourists interested in Central Asia’s history tends to increasingly go up over the last three years. The fact that no visa is needed

United Company RUSAL was given a $4.5bn loan from VEB, the development and foreign trade bank, in order to pay off the loan the company had taken from a syndicate of western banks seven months earlier. The loan was then needed to acquire 25% plus two shares of Norilsk Nickel, the spokesperson for UC RUSAL reports. The loan was offered to the enterprise for a period of one year, with the prolongation option available with the bank’s Supervisory Board’s consent. The interest rate comes to London Interbank Offered Rate plus 5%. UC RUSAL is planning to provide the 25% shareholding of Norilsk

SKB-Bank celebrated its 18th anniversary on November 5, 2008. ‘We’ve come a long way over these eighteen years. We are one of Russia’s largest provincial banks by now, and the sun never sets on our hundreds of offices in the countries’ nine time zones. We have some prominent shareholders to fall back on, and we are trusted by hundreds of thousands of customers. Besides, we take pride in our close-knit team of loyal professionals,’ SKB-Bank’s Chairman of the Supervisory Board Vladimir Pukhov said. ‘There is more to this anniversary than simply a celebration day and another step on the way of

According to the Central Bank of Russia, volume of loans given by Tagilbank to private individuals despite overdraft dropped by 20.05% (from 11.496 million RUR to 9.191 million RUR) in September 2008.

Central Bank of Russia reports volume of loans given by VUZ Bank to sole traders for 31 to 90 days went down by 71.97% (from 3.5 million RUR to 981,000 RUR) in September 2008.

Moscow, 5 November 2008 – UC RUSAL, which owns a 25% plus two shares stake in Norilsk Nickel, is issuing this statement to voice its concerns about the announced buy back of shares by MMC Norilsk Nickel worth of RUB 26 billion despite the Krasnoyarsk region's arbitration court ordering that such action be blocked. On 28 October, copies of the documents issued by the Krasnoyarsk region’s arbitration court ordering an immediate halt to any transactions in the framework of the buy back of Norilsk Nickel shares were presented to the company's Moscow office. This fact is proved by the

Moscow, 5 November 2008 – UC RUSAL, the world’s largest aluminium and alumina producer, is pleased to announce that it has received a USD 4.5 billion credit facility from Vnesheconombank (VEB) to refinance the loan received in April 2008 from a syndicate of foreign banks to finance the acquisition of a 25% plus two shares stake in MMC Norilsk Nickel. The credit facility is provided for one year with an option to extend it at the discretion of the advisory council of Vnesheconombank. An interest rate of LIBOR+5% was agreed. The credit facility is backed by UC RUSAL’s stake in Norilsk Nickel.

Central Bank of Russia reports volume of private individuals’ demand deposits and other investments in VUZ Bank went down by 22.04% (from 68.679 million RUR to 53.538 million RUR) in September 2008.

According to the Central Bank of Russia, volume of private individuals’ demand deposits and other investments in SberInvestBank dropped by 38.74% (from 7.293 million RUR to 4.467 million RUR) in September 2008.

Ural Airlines came up with a special offer in November: every tenth customer who chooses to pay for their airplane ticket through Yandex.Money is going to be given one of the following: a free Internet and cable TV subscription certificate and three months of prepaid Internet traffic and cable broadcast by Stream Yekaterinburg. The offer will be valid through December 31, 2008. The passengers who used their tickets in November 2008 will be awarded on December 1, 2008, while those who used the airline’s services in December will receive their presents right after New Year’s Day, the

According to the Central Bank of Russia, volume of loans given by Uralprivatbank to private individudals for 91 to 180 days dropped by 46.26% (from 2.142 million RUR to 1.151 million RUR) in September 2008.

Central Bank of Russia reports volume of loans given by Perviy Respublikanskiy Bank to private individuals for 91 to 180 days plummeted by 100% (from 1.229 million RUR to zero) in September 2008.

Thanks to the code sharing agreement it has with Czech Airlines, Ural Airlines will be able to operate more Yekaterinburg-Prague-Yekaterinburg flights during the winter holiday season. The flights to Prague will be available from December 27, 2008 to January 2, 2009. The plane takes off at 4.30 AM and arrives in Prague at 5.15 AM. Then, an additional flight will be offered on January 11, 2009 (departure at 5.30 AM, arrival at 6.15 AM) as well as on January 12, 2009 (departure at 7.55 AM, arrival at 8.45 AM), the spokesperson for Ural Airlines reports. Prague-Yekaterinburg flights will be

Central Bank of Russia reports volume of loans given by UralTransBank to sole traders despite overdraft went down by 24.09% (from 24.663 million RUR to 19.923 million RUR) in September 2008.

‘It was decided that Sverdlovsk Gubernskiy Bank should merge with SKB-Bank,’ Governor of Sverdlovsk Region Eduard Rossel announced in the course of a traditional monthly press conference. ‘SKB-Bank’s representatives are now trying to attract another 6 billion RUR in addition to the loan they have already received,’ Eduard Rossel added. ‘SKB-Bank’s experts are already working at Sverdlovsk Gubernskiy Bank. I cannot tell you about all the details of the transaction, since the merger has not been completed yet,’ he said.