The Banker magazine has compiled a rating of the top 50 Russian banks by first-tier capital for 2005. The list of banks is still being dominated by state-run institutions, SBERBANK, VTB and GAZPROMBANK. The most impressive results were shown by the URALSIB financial corporation which moved up from eleventh to fourth place over the year. British experts link the move to consolidation of all banking assets into a single bank. The first-tier capital used by The Banker to assess banks, is counted on the basis of methodology offered by Basel Bank for International Settlements and is a financial parameter that reflects the bank’s financial standing most effectively, experts say. Generally, The Banker experts highlight the dynamic development of the Russian banking sector, however pointing to on-going systemic volatility, which is primarily due to bank regulation and the non-transparency of the banks’ ownership structure, The Banker reported.
Source: WWW.KOMMERSANT.RU, November 7, 2006
