Alfa-Bank

Not to be confused with Alpha Bank.

Alfa Bank OJSC

Type	open joint stock company
Industry	Banking Financial services Investment services
Founded	(1990)
Headquarters	Moscow, Russia
Number of locations	364 offices in 7 countries
Products	Consumer Banking Corporate Banking Investment Banking
Net income	US$ 553 million (2010)
Total assets	US$ 28.5 billion (2010)
Total equity	US$ 3.1 billion (2010)
Owner(s)	Mikhail Fridman, Pyotr Aven, German Khan
Employees	15,463 (January, 2011)
Website	AlfaBank.ru

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Alfa Bank, the corporate treasury of the Alfa Group, is the largest private commercial bank in Russia. Headquartered in Moscow, it operates in 7 countries, providing financial services to over 40,000 active corporate customers and 5.3 million retail clients. Alfa Bank is particularly active in Russia and Ukraine, ranking among top 10 largest banks in terms of capital in both countries. In the 2009 edition of the Top-1000 World Banks, a survey by The Banker magazine, Alfa Bank was placed 270th.

History

Timeline:

• 1990 – Alfa Bank founded as a partnership with limited liability;

• 1991 – licence to banking operations received from Central Bank of Russia; first corporate accounts open;

• 1992 – Central Bank grants more licences for broader activities; Aval Bank opens first nostro accounts in six foreign banks; first retail branch opens in Moscow;

• 1993 – Alfa Bank becomes a member of Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange; general licence to banking operations received from Central Bank; Alfa Bank starts dealing in government bonds (GKOs and OFZs);

• 1994 – Alfa Bank becomes a member of MasterCard/Europay international credit card system and joins the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication; Pyotr Aven appointed as bank's President; Alfa Bank becomes the first Russian bank to open a subsidiary in Almaty, Kazakhstan;

• 1995 – Euromoney ranks Alfa Bank third in its category for Best Russian Banks in 1995; Alfa Bank joins Factors Chain International; representative office opens in London, United Kingdom;

• 1996 – Alfa Bank joins Euroclear and Visa International; becomes one of the three participants in the first Eurobonds issue by Russian government since October Revolution; opens branch in Nizhniy Novgorod;

• 1997 – Alfa Bank draws US$40 million syndicated loan; Euromoney declares Alfa Bank The Best Bank in Russia in 1997; first credit ratings received from Moody's and Standard & Poor's (S&P); Alfa Bank places the first issue of US$175 million, 3-year Eurobonds, becoming the first privately owned Russian bank to issue Eurobonds; branches in Saint Petersburg and Samara open; the value of total assets passes US$1 billion;

• 1998 – Alfa-Bank is reorganized from limited liability company into open joint stock company; Euromoney ranks Alfa Bank The Best Bank in Russia for the second straight year; Alfa Bank merges with Alfa Capital, then a sister company of Alfa Group; subsidiary bank opens in Novosibirsk;

• 1999 – Euromoney ranks Alfa Bank The Best Bank in Russia for the third straight year; Global Finance also names Alfa Bank The Best Russian Bank ; despite the financial crisis 14 new retail branches and offices open across Russia;

• 2000 – Alfa Bank acquires a 76% stake in Kyivinvestbank (later renamed "Alfa Bank Ukraine"); for the second year in a row Global Finance magazine names Alfa Bank The Best Russian Bank and The Banker call it The Bank of the Year; Alfa Securities, a broker and a subsidiary company of Alfa Bank, opens in London;

• 2001 – by the end of first quarter, loan portfolio reaches US1 billion; Alfa Bank opens a subsidiary in New York, Alfa Capital Markets, a NASD (National Association of Securities Dealers) regulated company set up to provide brokerage and investment services in North and South America; Emerging Markets Investor names Alfa Bank Best Bank in Russia and so does Global Finance magazine for the third straight year; Alfa Bank becomes 100 per cent owner of Amsterdam Trade Bank N.V. and thereby acquires a full banking licence in the European Union; for the third year in a row Global Finance magazine names Alfa Bank The Best Russian Bank;

• 2002 – Gazprom and Alfa Bank reach an agreement on strategic partnership; together with Merrill Lynch Alfa Bank wins financial consulting contract from Unified Energy System; Fitch and S&P upgrade their credit rating on Alfa Bank; once again Global Finance magazine declares Alfa Bank The Best Russian Bank;

• 2003 – unaudited financial statements reveal record high growth in profits in 2002 (loan portfolio increased 70% to US$1.4 billion, assets surged 51%, while net income rose by more than a third); Alfa Bank, in partnership with the Lauder Institute of the Wharton School of Business, establishes a new award for Excellence in Foreign Investment, which would be presented to foreign companies operating in Russia for weighty contribution to the corporate governance and successful business operations; Alfa Bank draws US$82 million unsecured syndicated loan, the biggest on record among private banks; S&P, Fitch and Moody's upgrade Alfa Bank's rating during the year;

• 2004 – Alfa Bank tops the list of financial consultants by deals value, completing US$8.9 billion worth of transactions in 2003; Bank's loan portfolio grows by 52% y-o-y, reaching US$2.8 billion;

• 2005 – Interbrand ranks Alfa Bank 9th strongest brand in Russia; Mikhail Fridman becomes the member of the Public Chamber of Russia; Alfa Bank issues US$225 million of subbordinated unsecured Eurobonds; S&P, Fitch and Moody's upgrade Alfa Bank's rating during the year;

• 2006 – Alfa Bank completes the country’s first securitisation of diversified payment rights with a US$350 million deal; unaudited first quarter management IFRS figures show total assets breaking the US$10 billion mark for the first time in company's history;

See also

• Alfa Group

External links

• Alfa bank corporate site
• Russian website