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Weekly Lists
May 18, 2018 www.intellinews.com I Page 27
bne:Banker
China's CITIC Bank discusses acquisition of Belarusian state- owned bank
Hungarian OTP to close its digital venture Russian Touch Bank
China's CITIC Bank is in talks with the Belarusian government to buy a stake in one of the state-owned banks, the government in Minsk said in a statement following a visit by a delegation from the CITIC Group, led by its president Wang Jiong.
"The possibility of buying a stake in a Belarusian bank has already been discussed with CITIC Bank top executives and the Chinese side expressed an interest in buying a Belarusian bank," the statement reads. "We could suggest two state banks for your consideration. If you are interested, we are ready to discuss terms."
Earlier, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) reached an agreement with the Belarusian government to privatise state-owned Belinvestbank after broadening its business activities and outreach.
Hungary’s OTP Group will close its Russian Touch Bank after having posted losses for three years in a row, the bank said in a statement on May 16.
The bank was launched in 2015 using OTP’s Russian licence and was an online bank catering to the middle class. But the project proved to be a flop, seeing losses mount from RUB1.2bn in 2016 to RUB1.6bn ($28mn). OTP reportedly invested $40mn into the project. The digital bank was hoping to compete with the highly successful Tinkoff bank, which after some teething problems is now an investor’s darling.
Touch Bank will continue to serve existing accounts and work with current customers, but it will not open any new accounts.
Touch Bank’s IT system and accounts will be integrated into
the processes of its parent bank OTP Russia, Russian daily Kommersant reported.
The Macedonian president has proposed a new candidate for central bank governor, after his previous nominee and current governor, Dimitar Bogov, withdrew his candidacy, media reported on May 16.
Bogov's mandate will expire on May 21 and there are only few days to find his successor. Previously Bogov said that the central bank should not be left without a head and his replacement must be found before the expiration of his seven-year mandate.
After receiving notification from Bogov that he does not want another mandate, President Gjorge Ivanov proposed his deputy Anita Angelovska-Bezoska.
Macedonia’s president proposes new candidate for central bank governor