Putin permits Expobank's acquisition of HSBC's Russian subsidiary

MOSCOW. Feb 19 (Interfax) - Expobank has received authorization to purchase 100% of Russian HSBC Bank, owned by HSBC Europe B.V.

The relevant order was signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin. The document was published on the official legal information website.

In July 2022, HSBC announced that it had signed an agreement to sell 100% of its subsidiary to Expobank. In order to complete the transaction, the parties were required to obtain authorization from Russian authorities. HSBC's operations in Russia are mainly in the sphere of corporate banking services, including lending and investment banking.

Expobank has extensive experience in M&A transactions. Over the last few years it has been expanding its business by acquiring other banks from international groups. Previously, the following banks were acquired: JSCB Yapi Kredi Bank Moscow from Yapi ve Kredi Bankasi A.S., Royal Bank of Scotland CJSC in Russia from Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), the Kazakh subsidiary of RBS, Marfin Bank A.D. Beograd (Serbia) from Cyprus Popular Bank Public Co Ltd, LBBW Bank CZ a.s. (Germany), WestLB Vostok from WestLB AG (Germany), FB-Leasing from VR Leasing AG (Germany), and the subsidiary Barclays Bank from Barclays Group (UK).

Expobank is owned by Russian entrepreneur Igor Kim. The bank specializes in lending to medium and large businesses, auto loans, as well as issuing bank guarantees and securities transactions. In December of last year, the U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on the bank. Expobank ranks 43rd in terms of assets in the Interfax-100 ranking for 2023.