International Moscow Bank id completing restructuring of its capital

International Moscow Bank is completing restructuring of its capital HypoVereinsbank and MeritaNordbanken Group will become its strategic shareholders HypoVereinsbank and the Scandinavian MeritaNordbanken Group are increasing their shareholdings in the International Moscow Bank as of April, 21. Hy- poVereinsbank is now the Russian bank´s largest shareholder with 41.03 percent of the shares. Merita Bank Plc, the second strategic investor, now holds 20.51 percent. Other shareholders include BCEN-Eurobank and Sberbank of Russia, which together hold 25 percent, European Bank for Reconstruc- tion and Development (EBRD) as a new shareholder which holds 10 percent, and Industrial Bank of Japan which holds 3.46 percent. The restructuring of shareholdings is accompanied by an increase of US$ 40 million in the capital stock of the International Moscow Bank. By increasing their hold- ings, HypoVereinsbank and MeritaNordbanken have placed themselves in a stronger position on the Russian market and have ensured themselves a good vantage point for participating in the enormous potential of this country in the long term. "Substantial increase of Merita Bank's shareholding and becoming a stra- tegic shareholder in International Moscow Bank will further enhance our possibilities to offer fully fledged and unique banking services to our Nordic customers in Russia", says Hannu Halttunen, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors of International Moscow Bank. "We are the only Nordic bank which can ensure first class banking facilities especially to Swedish and Danish companies operating in Russia. This will turn a new page in managing their financing on this difficult but still challenging market", continues Hannu Halttunen. The International Moscow Bank was founded in 1989 as the first Russian bank with foreign shareholders. Today, the institution is one of the five largest banks in Russia. Its activities are concentrated on corporate banking and on foreign trade. The corporate customers comprise mostly Rus- sian medium-sized enterprises and multinationals. The International Moscow Bank also caters for the corporate customers of its shareholders who par- ticipate in the Russian market. The International Moscow Bank has pres- ently approximately 3,400 corporate customers and 3,600 private customers. The total assets of the International Moscow Bank amounted to approxi- mately US$ 2 billion as of May 1, 2000. The institution has 800 employees. With the help of an active communications policy the International Moscow Bank intends to set new standards on the Russian domestic market. "We aim at providing the highest degree of transparency and professionalism of all Russian banks", says Peter O. Kölle, the new Chairman of the Board of Di- rectors of International Moscow Bank. "Our Russian and international cus- tomers receive comprehensive information about our shareholder structure and also about our business development, strategy and core business ar- eas." The two strategic shareholders HypoVereinsbank (total assets 503 Billion Euro) and MeritaNordbanken Group, together with Unidanmark, also contrib- ute large resources of expertise in their relevant strategic core compe- tencies to the International Moscow Bank. For HypoVereinsbank these are foreign trade and project financing, as well as the whole field of real estate financing. MeritaNordbanken and Unidanmark have merged under the holding company Nordic Baltic Holding (NBH). NBH is the leading financial group in the Nordic and Baltic Sea Region and a world leader in e-banking with total assets of EUR 194 billion. The EBRD (European Bank for Recon- struction and Development) also plays a central role for International Moscow Bank as a shareholder of 10 percent. For EBRD the International Moscow Bank will be an important partner for future investments in Russia, to facilitate the transition process. The Russian ownership stake of 25 percent demonstrates that the Bank is embedded in the Russian financial system. President of International Moscow Bank is Mr. Ilkka Salonen from Finland. Further information in Finland: MeritaNordbanken Group Hannu Halttunen, Tel. +358-9-165 53247 Jukka Suomela, Tel +358-9-165 54324 Further information in Russia: International Moscow Bank Sergei I. Levskoi Tel. +7-501-258-6528 Fax +7-501-258-7272 Further information in Germany: HypoVereinsbank, Presseabteilung Antje Terrahe Tel. +49-89-378-26001 Fax +49-89-378-25699 ------------------------------------------------------------ Please visit http://www.bit.se for further information The following files are available for download: http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2000/05/25/20000525BIT01070/bit0001.doc http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2000/05/25/20000525BIT01070/bit0002.pdf