Dow Jones International NewsBy Financial News reporters 17 November 2008Just a year after they were engaged in a frantic war for the best talent, investment banks in Russia have started slashing hundreds of jobs and cutting pay.Lay-offs at two of the country's largest domestic investment banks - Troika Dialog and Renaissance Capital - are approaching 1,000, and cuts will end up being substantially deeper than had previously been declared, according to bankers in Moscow.Troika Dialog has begun cuts expected to total 500, or 35% of its overall staff, according to two bankers at the company. The bank was unavailable for comment. Renaissance Capital will cut 25% of its employees, according to an internal memo sent to staff, which represents about 375 of their overall staff of 1,500. However, bankers there said the figure will be higher.A Rencap spokesman ...

Financial News OnlineJason Corcoran in Moscow22 September 2008 Russian investment bank Renaissance Capital has given up its much vaunted independence after selling a 50% stake to billionaire client Mikhail Prokhorov for $500m (€342m) amid the worst market falls in Moscow since the 1998 financial crisis.Renaissance and the Onexim investment vehicle owned by Prokhorov, who made his money from metals and banking, will buy new equity amounting to 50% of the brokerage for $500m, with the old shareholders retaining a one-share voting majority.The deal follows a week when market turmoil drove domestic indices down by 25% in just three days and forced another brokerage KIT Finance to agree to sell a controlling stake Leader Asset Management, the pension fund manager of energy giant Gazprom.A Moscow spokesman for Renaissance said the deal had been in the pipeline for ...

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 Moscow30 June 2008 Citigroup’s head of equities for central and eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa is quitting to join Russia’s Troika Dialog in the latest defection from the investment bank.Nick Harwood led Citigroup’s move into Turkey with the acquisition last year of local broker Opus Menkul Degerler and helped the bank set up offices this year in Kenya and Nigeria.Harwood’s exit comes after the the bank’s co-head of global credit markets, Mark Watson, left to “pursue new opportunities”, and the departure to UBS of Dmitry Vinogradov, head of research, strategy and banking in Moscow.It emerged last month that former Russia country head Stuart Harley quit the bank in February, while co-head of equity research Mikhail Seleznev and equity sales director Sergei Suverov left to join Deutsche Bank.London-based Harwood, who is ...

Financial NewsJason Corcoran in Moscow09 June 2008 Russian state-controlled bank VTB has created a dedicated unit of 20 bankers to act as a conduit for sovereign wealth funds looking to tap the global capital markets.Ivan Ivanchenko, who has joined VTB from Deutsche Bank’s global markets team, is in charge of building the operation and developing links to sovereign wealth funds in the Middle East and Asia.The operation is expected to be involved in managing a large amount of Russia’s $32.6bn (€21bn) National Prosperity Fund, which is scheduled to begin investing in foreign stocks and corporate bonds from October.Ivanchenko said: “The sovereign funds and their counterparties are considering big allocations to Russian corporations. So far, we have 20 staff involved from sales and trading, research and global markets but it is a floating number and in the set-up stage.”...

Financial NewsJason Corcoran in Moscow09 June 2008 Russian state-controlled bank VTB has created a dedicated unit of 20 bankers to act as a conduit for sovereign wealth funds looking to tap the global capital markets.Ivan Ivanchenko, who has joined VTB from Deutsche Bank’s global markets team, is in charge of building the operation and developing links to sovereign wealth funds in the Middle East and Asia.The operation is expected to be involved in managing a large amount of Russia’s $32.6bn (€21bn) National Prosperity Fund, which is scheduled to begin investing in foreign stocks and corporate bonds from October.Ivanchenko said: “The sovereign funds and their counterparties are considering big allocations to Russian corporations. So far, we have 20 staff involved from sales and trading, research and global markets but it is a floating number and in the set-up stage.”...

Financial NewsJason Corcoran in Moscow09 June 2008 Swedish manager sees opportunities in downturnA marked slowdown in the Baltic economies has cooled the interest of many investors, but others continue to sense opportunities.Swedish fund manager East Capital Asset Management hopes to raise €150m ($232m) for a fund with a 20% exposure to the three former Soviet republics of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, to add to its €4.4bn of assets under management. Its Bering New Europe fund will invest in small to mid-sized companies in the central European and Baltic markets.Managers at East Capital believe the sharp adjustment has spawned companies with attractive valuations. East Capital director Andras Szalkai said: “We see good growth and limited risk for central Europe and the Baltics that we want to mirror in our fund. The global market situation has created many investment opportunities.”He ...

Financial NewsJason Corcoran in Moscow09 June 2008 Swedish manager sees opportunities in downturnA marked slowdown in the Baltic economies has cooled the interest of many investors, but others continue to sense opportunities.Swedish fund manager East Capital Asset Management hopes to raise €150m ($232m) for a fund with a 20% exposure to the three former Soviet republics of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, to add to its €4.4bn of assets under management. Its Bering New Europe fund will invest in small to mid-sized companies in the central European and Baltic markets.Managers at East Capital believe the sharp adjustment has spawned companies with attractive valuations. East Capital director Andras Szalkai said: “We see good growth and limited risk for central Europe and the Baltics that we want to mirror in our fund. The global market situation has created many investment opportunities.”He ...