Alfa-Bank

Alfa Bank, the corporate treasury of the Alfa Group, is the largest private commercial bank in Russia.^[3] Headquartered in Moscow, it operates in 7 countries, providing financial services to over 40,000 active corporate customers and 5.3 million retail clients.^[4] Alfa Bank is particularly active in Russia and Ukraine, ranking among top 10 largest banks in terms of capital in both countries.^[5][6] In the 2009 edition of the Top-1000 World Banks, a survey by The Banker magazine, Alfa Bank was placed 270th.^[7]

History

Timeline:^[8][9]

• 1990 – Alfa Bank founded as a partnership with limited liability;

• 1991 – licence to banking operations received from Central Bank of Russia; first corporate accounts open;

• 1992 – Central Bank grants more licences for broader activities; Aval Bank opens first nostro accounts in six foreign banks; first retail branch opens in Moscow;

• 1993 – Alfa Bank becomes a member of Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange; general licence to banking operations received from Central Bank; Alfa Bank starts dealing in government bonds (GKOs and OFZs);

• 1994 – Alfa Bank becomes a member of MasterCard/Europay international credit card system and joins the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication; Pyotr Aven appointed as bank's President; Alfa Bank becomes the first Russian bank to open a subsidiary in Almaty, Kazakhstan;

• 1995 – Euromoney ranks Alfa Bank third in its category for Best Russian Banks in 1995; Alfa Bank joins Factors Chain International; representative office opens in London, United Kingdom;

• 1996 – Alfa Bank joins Euroclear and Visa International; becomes one of the three participants in the first Eurobonds issue by Russian government since October Revolution; opens branch in Nizhniy Novgorod;

• 1997 – Alfa Bank draws US$40 million syndicated loan; Euromoney declares Alfa Bank The Best Bank in Russia in 1997; first credit ratings received from Moody's and Standard & Poor's (S&P); Alfa Bank places the first issue of US$175 million, 3-year Eurobonds, becoming the first privately owned Russian bank to issue Eurobonds; branches in Saint Petersburg and Samara open; the value of total assets passes US$1 billion;

• 1998 – Alfa-Bank is reorganized from limited liability company into open joint stock company; Euromoney ranks Alfa Bank The Best Bank in Russia for the second straight year; Alfa Bank merges with Alfa Capital, then a sister company of Alfa Group; subsidiary bank opens in Novosibirsk;

• 1999 – Euromoney ranks Alfa Bank The Best Bank in Russia for the third straight year; Global Finance also names Alfa Bank The Best Russian Bank ; despite the financial crisis 14 new retail branches and offices open across Russia;

• 2000 – Alfa Bank acquires a 76% stake in Kyivinvestbank (later renamed "Alfa Bank Ukraine"); for the second year in a row Global Finance magazine names Alfa Bank The Best Russian Bank and The Banker call it The Bank of the Year; Alfa Securities, a broker and a subsidiary company of Alfa Bank, opens in London;

• 2001 – by the end of first quarter, loan portfolio reaches US1 billion; Alfa Bank opens a subsidiary in New York, Alfa Capital Markets, a NASD (National Association of Securities Dealers) regulated company set up to provide brokerage and investment services in North and South America; Emerging Markets Investor names Alfa Bank Best Bank in Russia and so does Global Finance magazine for the third straight year; Alfa Bank becomes 100 per cent owner of Amsterdam Trade Bank N.V. and thereby acquires a full banking licence in the European Union; for the third year in a row Global Finance magazine names Alfa Bank The Best Russian Bank;

• 2002 – Gazprom and Alfa Bank reach an agreement on strategic partnership; together with Merrill Lynch Alfa Bank wins financial consulting contract from Unified Energy System; Fitch and S&P upgrade their credit rating on Alfa Bank; once again Global Finance magazine declares Alfa Bank The Best Russian Bank;

• 2003 – unaudited financial statements reveal record high growth in profits in 2002 (loan portfolio increased 70% to US$1.4 billion, assets surged 51%, while net income rose by more than a third); Alfa Bank, in partnership with the Lauder Institute of the Wharton School of Business, establishes a new award for Excellence in Foreign Investment, which would be presented to foreign companies operating in Russia for weighty contribution to the corporate governance and successful business operations; Alfa Bank draws US$82 million unsecured syndicated loan, the biggest on record among private banks; S&P, Fitch and Moody's upgrade Alfa Bank's rating during the year;

• 2004 – Alfa Bank tops the list of financial consultants by deals value, completing US$8.9 billion worth of transactions in 2003; Bank's loan portfolio grows by 52% y-o-y, reaching US$2.8 billion;

• 2005 – Interbrand ranks Alfa Bank 9th strongest brand in Russia; Mikhail Fridman becomes the member of the Public Chamber of Russia; Alfa Bank issues US$225 million of subbordinated unsecured Eurobonds; S&P, Fitch and Moody's upgrade Alfa Bank's rating during the year;

• 2006 – Alfa Bank completes the country’s first securitisation of diversified payment rights with a US$350 million deal; unaudited first quarter management IFRS figures show total assets breaking the US$10 billion mark for the first time in company's history;

See also

• Alfa Group

References

External links

• Alfa bank corporate site
• Russian website