Mezhprombank Considers Purchase of Industrial Assets in St. Petersburg

Mezhprombank is interested in buying industrial assets in Saint Petersburg, but has no plans to develop its banking business here or set up a branch or branch network. This was revealed to the Agency for Conflict Situations by Grigory Tsuprik, the bank's acting deputy managing director. 'We see ourselves as an investment bank, so we are looking at possible purchases of industrial assets in several regions, including St. Petersburg,' he said. 'We are currently looking at 10-15 investment projects. But Mezhprombank doesn't look for projects, they come to us.' Tsuprik also said that 'there is no need to open a branch of the bank in St. Petersburg, as it is possible to manage clients' funds remotely.'

Mezhprombank's representative also announced that the bank regards 'exporting Russian arms as a highly promising business.' However, Tsuprik remarked that Mezhprombank is not planning to acquire any new enterprises in the military-industrial complex in the near future. In his opinion, any expansion of the bank's sphere of interest is likely to be connected with shipping.

The International Industrial Bank (Mezhprombank) was created in 1992. According to Dengi (Money) magazine's ratings for October 1, 2002, the bank is Russia's third largest in terms of its equity (USD 868 million).

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