Sale of Alfa-Bank planned

Information has emerged regarding the possible sale of Alfa-Bank as early as 2018. Shareholders are ready to divest the asset if offered a fair price.

VTB or Sberbank may acquire the bank. Vladimir Kogan was also considered among the potential buyers; however, he recently suffered a stroke, which makes it unlikely that the banker will be able to return to active business operations.

Reasons for the possible sale:

·         Increased competition in the market. The bank finds it difficult to compete with stronger financial institutions.

·         Problems at Alfa-Group. These arose due to servicing the daughter of former Uzbekistan President Gulnara Karimova. The conglomerate also faces difficulties in Latvia.

·         Problematic clients in Ukraine. The bank actively cooperated with Dmytro Firtash, Renat Akhmetov, and the fugitive president, Viktor Yanukovych, who failed to repay large loans taken earlier.

European countries and the US may introduce sanctions against Alfa's shareholders in the near future, which would negatively impact the corporation and potentially lead to its bankruptcy.

It is worth noting that Mikhail Fridman and Petr Aven are making every effort to turn the situation around and avoid sanctions. Both are demonstrating their loyalty to Europe and the US in every way.