Financial News OnlineJason Corcoran in Moscow18 September 2008 Energy giant Gazprom's pension fund manager Leader is close to buying up troubled Russian brokerage KIT Finance as the government drew up a "red list" of 15 banks requiring urgent capital injections.In a statement late on Wednesday night, KIT said it was in the final stages of selling a controlling stake to Leader Asset Management with credit support from state-controlled banks Gazprombank and VTB.The rescue of KIT comes as Moscow's stock markets were suspended for the second day in a row and as the state pledged $60bn (€41.9bn) to save banks as a spreading liquidity crisis threatened to push the sector into insolvency.Minister for Finance Alexei Kudrin told Russian media several banks were have difficulties with meeting their obligations and were now holding talks with strategic investors.KIT, a ...

Financial News OnlineJason Corcorcan in Moscow17 September 2008 Russian brokerage KIT is holding talks with strategic investors after defaulting on its debt as analysts suggested a number of small to medium-sized bank are facing similar difficulties refinancing on the repo market.KIT, a second tier investment bank, was forced to look for a buyer after it defaulted on a repo deal. Investment banking sources said a buyer had been found and announcement would be made by close of play today.A KIT spokeswoman declined to comment and said a statement would be made at 5pm Moscow time.Analysts said KIT's problems were contagious and the state would have to intervene quickly to restore liquidity and confidence in the market.David Nangle, director of financial research at Renaissance Capita, said: "There are other banks and boutiques with exposure to repos whereby ...

Financial NewsJason Corcoran in Moscow28 Jul 2008 The Russian investment bank benefits from privatisations Andrei Sharonov, managing director and chairman of the board of directors at independent Russian investment bank Troika Dialog, knows more than most about the links between Russia’s public and private sectors. He served in the Government for a decade, including nine years as Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Trade.Troika’s status as, in observers’ eyes, the Kremlin’s preferred investment bank has been cemented by its leading role in the recent sale of a 25% stake in state-controlled carmaker AvtoVAZ to France’s Renault, its mandates from the break-up of the electricity monopoly UES and its involvement in the privatisation programme of the state-owned rail giant RZD.The deals have propelled Troika to the top of the Russian mergers and acquisitions league table for the first six ...

Financial NewsJason Corcoran in Moscow and Dawn Cowie21 July 2008 Russian bank Troika Dialog has made hires for its private banking and derivatives sections as it forecasts revenue growth of 35% for its global business in as little as three years.Troika has recruited Renaissance Investment Management’s head of wealth management Alexey Ischenko as part of big push in private banking. Pavel Teplukhin, Troika president and chief executive of its asset management arm, said: “Business is booming. We plan to expand our 20-strong private banking sales team by a factor of 10 within four years.”Troika manages in excess of $10bn (€6.3bn) in institutional, retail and government funds, while rival Russian bank Renaissance manages $6.5bn mainly for high net worth individuals and has recently lost five of its senior fund management executives. Renaissance said it was formulating a strategy to ...

Financial News Jason Corcoran in Moscow and Tara Loader Wilkinson23 June 2008 Russian investment bank Renaissance Capital has more than doubled its workforce over the past 18 months and is still hiring, while many of its rivals have been cutting jobs to save costs.Staff numbers at the bank, which specialises in emerging markets including Russia and sub-Saharan Africa, have grown from 500 at the start of last year to about 1,200 as of last week. The bank said: “We have identified huge opportunities to create value in a range of frontier markets around the world, and that has led us to recruit talented people to pursue those opportunities and meet our aggressive targets. We have grown rapidly in the past year or two, against a backdrop of downsizing by many of our competitors.” The bank is opening a ...

Financial News Jason Corcoran in Moscow and Tara Loader Wilkinson23 June 2008 Russian investment bank Renaissance Capital has more than doubled its workforce over the past 18 months and is still hiring, while many of its rivals have been cutting jobs to save costs.Staff numbers at the bank, which specialises in emerging markets including Russia and sub-Saharan Africa, have grown from 500 at the start of last year to about 1,200 as of last week. The bank said: “We have identified huge opportunities to create value in a range of frontier markets around the world, and that has led us to recruit talented people to pursue those opportunities and meet our aggressive targets. We have grown rapidly in the past year or two, against a backdrop of downsizing by many of our competitors.” The bank is opening a ...