Former head of UniCredit Bank and Otkritie Alexeyev to lead Pochta Bank

MOSCOW. June 9 (Interfax) - Mikhail Alexeyev, the former CEO of UniCredit Bank and Otkritie, has been appointed president and management board chairman of Pochta Bank, according to a statement from VTB , the sole shareholder of the credit institution.

Prior to this, Alexeyev chaired Pochta Bank's supervisory board, overseeing its integration into VTB Group.

In addition, Alexander Pakhomov has been appointed the new chairman of the supervisory board. In May of this year, Pakhomov became deputy president and management board chairman of VTB, having previously served as president and management board chairman of Pochta Bank.

Alexeyev will be responsible for the bank's operations and integration with VTB, the bank said. "He has extensive experience in integration projects. While previously head of Otkritie Bank, he successfully merged it with VTB," it said.

The integration of Pochta Bank and VTB is currently in an active phase. Pochta Bank clients already have access to VTB's products and services in 79 regions of the country. The final legal merger is planned for May 2026, when Pochta Bank clients will transition to VTB.

Alexeyev headed UniCredit Bank for many years before serving as deputy governor of the Central Bank of Russia. In December 2022, he was appointed management board chairman of Otkritie and led the bank's integration into VTB Group.

On January 1, 2025, Otkritie merged with BM Bank (formerly Bank of Moscow, part of VTB Group) and ceased operations.

In December 2024, VTB completed the acquisition of a 49.99% stake in Pochta Bank from Russian Post for 36 billion rubles, consolidating 100% ownership of the credit institution.

The integration of Pochta Bank into VTB Group will expand and strengthen its regional presence. The bank's network includes 24,000 sales outlets, with an active customer base of 9 million people.