MOSCOW, January 12 (RIA Novosti, Peter Lavelle)--According to a Russian business daily, state-owned Sberbank is poised to expand into Ukraine and is awaiting approval from Russia's Central Bank for its acquisition of NRB-Ukraina for about $100 million.
According to Vedomosti, as with Sberbank's interest in Kazakhstan, the savings bank's plan in Ukraine is to solely serve corporate clients rather than undertake a retail expansion. Sberbank's plans to expand into Ukraine and Kazakhstan were highlighted by Board Vice President Alla Alyoshkina in late 2005.
A Sberbank source said that NRB-Ukraina would be bought together with the real estate it owns, which includes a central Kiev office and other prime real estate properties, which are estimated to be valued in the range of $50 million.
