Credit Europe bank merges with Ikano bank

MOSCOW. May 12 (Interfax) - Ikano Bank, a former subsidiary of the Swedish IKEA group, will merge with Credit Europe Bank, according to information on the Fedresurs website (EFRSB, fedresurs.ru).

As a result of the reorganization, Credit Europe Bank will become the assignee of all rights and obligations of Ikano Bank.

Credit Europe Bank became the owner of Ikano Bank on March 1 this year, having bought it from IKEA, which left the Russian market in connection with the events in Ukraine. Earlier, in January, the bank received permission from Russian President Vladimir Putin for the deal. The presidential order was necessary, as last October Ikano Bank was included in the list of credit organizations for whom a change of owners requires permission from the head of state.

The beneficiary of Credit Europe Bank is the Turkish FIBA Holding, belonging to businessman Hyusnu Ozyegin. As of the end of 2022, the bank's assets under RAS totaled 159.4 billion rubles.

Ikano Bank was established in 2013 on a parity basis by the Swedish IKEA group and the Dutch Credit Europe Bank to develop consumer lending in IKEA stores and Mega shopping centers in Russia, as well as provide financial services to those companies and their partners. The bank was ranked 208th in the Interfax-100 ranking in 2021. In October 2022, Ikano Bank announced the termination of its branded cards.