ST. PETERSBURG, March 28 (RIA Novosti) - Two major Russian banks unveiled Tuesday plans to switch to uniform shares by the end of 2006 in a move continuing earlier steps made toward consolidation.
Russian state-run foreign trade bank Vneshtorgbank and Industrial and Construction Bank Promstroibank from St. Petersburg (RTS ticker: PCBS) have decided to switch to a common share regime this year, Promstroibank board chairman Vladimir Skatin said.
According to Skatin, the bank's annual shareholders' meeting scheduled for May will discuss the transition to uniform shares and the price.
"The price of shares will be set by an independent valuator," he said.
Promstroibank deputy board chairman Yevgeny Novikov said shareholders unwilling to swap their shares for VTB stock would be able to sell them to Promstroibank at a fixed price.
He said the shareholders' meeting would set the fixed price of share repurchase and added that the offer to shareholders to sell their shares could equal no more than 10% of Promstroibank's equity capital.
It was earlier reported that Promstroibank shareholders had elected a new nine-man supervisory board at an extraordinary meeting in early March, seven of whom are VTB representatives, including VTB chairman Andrei Kostin.
"The expansion of operations in the Northwestern Federal District [where Promstroibank is based] is a strategic priority for Vneshtorgbank Group," Kostin said.
In late 2005, VTB increased its stake in Promstroibank to 75% plus three shares.
Also Tuesday, Promstroibank said its pre-tax profit had jumped 24.6% in 2005, year-on-year, to 4.3 billion rubles (about $140 million) compared with 3.45 billion rubles (about $105 million).
The bank's shareholders' equity increased 61.2% in 2005 to 14.43 billion rubles (about $490 million) compared with 8.95 billion rubles (about $283 million) in 2004.
In early 2006, Promstroibank had 54 branches in 26 regions of Russia.
Promstroibank is on a list of the country's top thirty banks published by the Central Bank of Russia.
