strongFinancial News/strongbr /br /Jason Corcoran in Moscow br /08 December 2008 br /br /Increasing competition from new entrants and sharp falls in equity prices are driving down the margins of Russia’s sub-custody banks.br /br /The recent arrivals of Sweden’s SEB and France’s Société Générale, plus the increasing participation of Russian banks such as VTB and Gazprombank, are forcing fees downward but bringing greater segmentation and opportunities for niche providers.br /br /Natalia Sidorova, head of securities services at ING Wholesale Banking in Moscow, said: “Margins are decreasing, which is inevitable in a busy market like Russia driven by competition. Fees used to be about 20 basis points but have come down significantly in recent years.”br /br /Serhiy Berezhny, head of trust and securities services at Deutsche Bank, agreed but said high fees could still be charged depending on the volume of client assets. br /br /He said: “Different clients are ...

For the week, the Dow gained 1.8% (down 13.9% y-t-d) and the S&P500 increased 0.8% (down 14.8%). The Utilities rose 2.6% (down 14.8%), and the Morgan Stanley Consumer index gained 2.2% (down 5.1%). The Transports jumped 3.8% (up 11%), and the Morgan Stanley Cyclical index advanced 3.3% (down 13.2%). The small cap Russell 2000 added 0.2% (down 5.1%), and the S&P400 Mid-Caps increased 0.4% (down 8.1%). The NASDAQ100 was about unchanged (down 15.2%), while the Morgan Stanley High Tech index slipped 0.4% (down 15.6%). The Semiconductors lost 2.9% (down 21.2%). The Street.com Internet Index declined 0.3% (down 11%), while the NASDAQ Telecommunications index gained 1.7% (down 10.2%). The Biotechs gained 1.0% (up 3%). The financial stocks were mixed. With Lehman collapsing, the Broker/Dealers sank 11.6% (down 35.9%). Meanwhile, the Banks gained 3.2% (down 19.9%). With Bullion sinking $37, the ...