Sistema revisiting banking strategy, considering acquisitions - paper
MOSCOW. June 3 (Interfax) - Russian conglomerate Sistema JSFC is drafting a development strategy that calls for the aggressive growth of its banking business, both organic and through mergers and acquisitions, business daily Vedomosti reported on Tuesday, citing sources.
This strategy calls for Sistema's MTS Bank (formerly Moscow Bank for Reconstruction and Development), currently ranked Russia's 40th largest lender by assets, to become one of the country's top 10-15 banks.
Sistema has considered buying several banks, but has not yet decided whether the company needs this, the paper reported a source close to the conglomerate as saying.
The paper reported one of Sistema's consultants as saying that the company has held negotiations with a number of Western banks about buying their Russian subsidiaries.
Several of the paper's sources assert that one of the possible acquisition targets is Unicredit Bank, but this lender's CEO Mikhail Alekseyev denied that negotiations have been held with Sistema.