Uzbekistan's Davr Bank rebrands following takeover by Azerbaijan's ABB

TASHKENT. Oct 15 (Interfax) - Shareholders of Uzbekistan's Davr Bank, in which the International Bank of Azerbaijan (ABB) recently acquired a 51% stake, voted at an extraordinary meeting on October 9 to rebrand the bank and elect new governing bodies.

According to the Uzbek corporate information disclosure portal, shareholders approved the new name of ABB Davr Bank.

The bank's supervisory board was re-elected: bank founder Lutfulla Ubayev, as well as Mirkodir Mirzayatov, Atkham Alimov, Ozoda Abdurakhmanova and Shavkat Giyasov, were removed from board and replaced by Taleh Tahirli and Agshin Amirov, deputy chairmen of ABB's management board, as well as Shafag Hasanova, Said Abdunabiyev and Farkhod Roziyev as independent members, who will serve for three years.

Ubayev will continue to attend supervisory board meetings as an observer without voting rights. Before ABB took control of the bank, he owned 46.9% of its shares, while his current stake is 25.5%.

A new management board was also approved. Abdumajid Samadov will chair it and Aynur Suleymanli will be first deputy chairman.

ABB has completed the acquisition of a 51% stake in Uzbekistan's Davr Bank for $140 million on September 10. The deal was signed on August 23. ABB planned to begin operations in the Uzbek banking market under the ABB Davr Bank brand in October.

Davr Bank has been operating since September 2001. Its assets are approximately $1 billion.

Bank ABB, Azerbaijan's biggest lender, was established in 1992. The state owns 92.2%. The bank currently has subsidiaries in Russia and Georgia.