Europe’s biggest bank, HSBC, will
open five retail branches during June in Russia – four in Moscow
and one in St Petersburg – as part of its $200 million Russian
expansion programme. Further branch openings will follow, with the
emphasis on organic growth.
In March, the bank said it would inject $200
million of new capital into its Russian arm, to fuel the bank’s
expansion plans across all business lines.
HSBC, which has offered a corporate banking
service in Russia since 1997, celebrated its retail launch with a
series of attention-grabbing events, including a lavish outdoor
party in one of the most exclusive suburbs of Moscow and a
three-day outdoor concert.
The bank is concentrating its retail customer
acquisition energies on customers with at least RUB75,000 ($2,400)
while its mass affluent Premier offering will be aimed at clients
with savings of at least RUB1.5 million.
Nordea, meanwhile, has announced it is to
rebrand its Russian subsidiary, Orgresbank, under the Nordea name.
The Nordic region’s largest lender has had an established retail
presence in Russia since 2006 via an initial 75 percent stake,
since raised to 100 percent, in the regional lender.
In early June, Nordea said the subsidiary
would adopt the former’s brand, with branch signage set to switch
by the end of the year.
