07
June
2011
The purchase of 50% of the United Investment Bank (OBIBANK) authorized capital by SBI Holdings (Japan) is completed
On June 7th, 2011 IFC METROPOL and Japanese SBI Holdings Inc.
signed a package of documents including Purchase and sale Contract
and Option Agreement. According to them SBI Holdings becomes the
owner of 50% of the authorized capital of the United Investment
Bank (OBIBANK), METROPOL Group. The transaction price is more than
700 mln rub.
The documents were signed in Moscow by Head of the METROPOL
Group Mikhail Slipenchuk and Head of Moscow Representative office
of SBI Holdings Nagamoto Kuroda. Thus the deal is completed and SBI
Holdings has become a co-owner of OBIBANK. In the future, the
partners will continue to develop internet-banking using modern
Japanese technologies.
Commenting on the signed documents, Mikhail Slipenchuk said:
"This is a historical deal because our bank becomes the first
Russian Japanese bank in modern history. Thus we open new page in
bilateral relations. The aim of the deal is to implement and to
develop advanced internet-banking technologies in Russia that
proved themselves well in Japan. SBI Holdings has developed unique
breakthrough technologies for providing safe, convenient and
reliable internet-banking services. It is a new era for Russian
internet-banking market and I believe the newly formed joint bank
will become its leader”.
Mr Nagamoto Kuroda also stressed that “the deal with IFC
Metropol is very important for Japanese financial institutions and
for Russian-Japanese relations in general”. He expressed hope that
there will be a demand for Japanese modern web-banking technologies
in Russian market.
The cooperation between IFC METROPOL and SBI Holdings began in
December 2007 with signing of a memorandum of understanding. In May
2009, IFC METROPOL and SBI Holdings signed an agreement
establishing a management company in the Netherlands for managing a
joint fund totaling USD 100 mln. for investment in Russian equity.
In December 2009, IFC METROPOL and SBI Securities have implemented
online-trading project, which provided Japanese private investors
access to the shares of Russian companies at the Moscow Interbank
Stock Exchange. In February 2010 the parties signed a Memorandum of
Understanding that defined the basic terms of the deal between SBI
Holdings and IFC METROPOL regarding the purchase of a share in
OBIBANK and further financial activities in Russia with the use of
internet-banking services. The statement on completing the deal was
signed in November 2010 in Tokyo.
CB OBIBANK (United investment bank) was found
in 1994. Since its establishment, the bank has performed its
activities mostly in the investment services market. In 2002 due to
the change in ownership, the bank had its development concept
reviewed and is now positioned as a full-service commercial bank,
providing services to the real sector of economy and providing
customers with classic and modern financial services. In April 2009
the National Rating Agency assigned CB OBIBANK an individual credit
rating of “A” level (high credit rating, level three).
SBI Holdings has offered services that bring
various innovations in the world of finance by using the explosive
power of the internet in Japan. In 2007, SBI Holdings together with
Sumitomo Trust & Banking established SBI Sumishin Net Bank with
an authorized capital of 31 billion yen (USD 380 mln). A
characteristic feature about the bank is that it works solely as a
net-bank, widely applying new internet-banking technologies. As of
March 2010, the number of client accounts with the bank totaled
1,05 million and the volume of deposits exceeded USD 19 bln. In
2008, The Asian Banker named SBI Sumishin Net Bank the Best
Internet Only Bank of 2008.
