23 Mar 2010 12:34

Gazprom, VTB, Fonden to form Russian-Venezuelan bank

MOSCOW. March 23 (Interfax) - Gazprom , VTB and Venezuelan national development fund Fonden will found a bank that Russia and Venezuela agreed to set up last summer, Deputy Russian Finance Minister Dmitry Pankin told Interfax.

Preparations, including due diligence, are under way to set the bank up in line with an agreement signed last June that stated the bank would have up to $4 billion in equity, Pankin said.

"Various options for equity distribution are on the table, but final agreements have not yet been reached," he said.

The bank will be set up under the auspices of Evrofinance Mosnarbank, which is controlled by VTB, and headquartered in Moscow.