Alfa Bank reports drop in balance profit

The balance profit of largest Russian bank Alfa Bank amounted to RUR 253.9m (about $8.08m) in the first half of 2002, which was 2.6-fold less versus the first half of 2001. As of January 1, 2002, the balance profit of Alfa Bank was reported at RUR 494.757m ($15.74m). Bank officials commented on this drop in profits and linked it to the necessity to form reserves for unsettled debt of SIBUR, which, according to the bank's estimates, amounted to about $70m.

Alfa Bank's assets amounted to about RUR 121.404bn ($3.86bn) as of July 1 versus RUR 116.735bn ($3.71bn) as of January 1, 2002. The volume of funds deposited with Alfa Bank by its clients reached more than RUR 53.234bn ($1.69bn) in the first six months of this year, including 36.7 percent of funds deposited by individuals.

Alfa Bank filed a suit against SIBUR petrochemical and oil company and SIBUR credit guarantors on March 5, 2002 for the recovery of $43.49m that the bank had allocated in credits to this company earlier. The trial against SIBUR was discontinued on April 4 due to bankruptcy procedures against the petrochemical company. On July 17, accounts of a SIBUR subsidiary were frozen and its property were seized according to a decision of the Moscow Arbitration Court aimed at the repayment of debt to Alfa Bank.

©

&to=http://www.alfa-bank.com/flash/' target=_blank>Alfa Bank

&to=http://www.sibur-nn.ru/comm/news.phtml?id=727' target=_blank>SIBUR