"Deltabank" bought General Electric

DELTA Capital Management has officially announced the sale of Deltabank to the General Electric consumer lending unit - GE Consumer Finance. This was reported by Rosbalt with reference to Reuters.

The joint statement of the two companies says that the transaction is subject to approval by state bodies, and the parties plan to complete its part in the fourth quarter of 2004. The parties did not report the amount of the transaction. "GE is convinced that they managed to find an excellent platform for the speedy and such significant access to the Russian consumer lending market. This sector is experiencing a storm of rapid growth and has great potential," said David R. Nissen, President and Executive Director of GE Consumer Finance.

Delta Capital Management, the US-Russia Foundation, owns 100% Deltabank. Earlier, GE Consumer Finance spoke of the intention to enter the Russian market until the end of 2004 and discussed three possible options for working in the Russian market: opening its own bank, partnership with one of the banks or the acquisition of a bank.

The Russian market of retail banking services, in particular consumer financing, is currently demonstrating rapid growth. According to the Central Bank, the volume of loans to individuals increased in 2003 by 2.1 times to 298.4 billion rubles, while the activity of banks controlled by non -residents increased in this market by 3.4 times to 17.3 billion rubles.

So far, the largest players on it are Sberbank banks, Russian Standard, almost half of which was recently acquired by the French BNP Paribas, and the daughter of the Czech bank is Home Credit and Finance.

GE Consumer Finance, whose assets reach $ 95 billion, is already working in 37 countries of the world.