Russia’s VTB Group plans to complete a deal to buy the government’s stake in its Belarus subsidiary, VTB Bank, before the end of 2012, Uladzimir Ivanow, chairman of the VTB Bank board, told reporters in Minsk on Tuesday.
"We are resuming negotiations on this issue and expect that the deal may take place before the end of the year," Mr. Ivanow said.
However, he admitted that there were different opinions regarding the implementation of the deal.
VTB Bank has been operating in the banking services market of Belarus since 1996 and is among the country’s 10 largest banks. The bank is a universal lending and financial institution providing a full range of services to individuals and corporate customers. The bank’s network includes a branch in each of the six regions of Belarus.
Nadzeya Yermakova, head of the National Bank, revealed in January 2012 that the Belarusian government was planning to buy Moscow-Minsk Bank from VTB Group and merge it with Belinvestbank, After acquiring Moscow-Minsk Bank, the government, which wants to have "one more serious state bank," plans to merge it with Belinvestbank, Ms. Yermakova said.
