Russian Commercial Bank offers 5% on Cyprus deposits

Russian Commercial Bank (Cyprus), the local subsidiary of the giant VTB Bank in Russia, has launched a promotional 5% interest rate for a fixed year deposit of over 100,000 euros to coincide with the bank’s plans to break into the Cyprus retail sector.
Svetlana Kalogera, Nicosia Branch Manager of RCB Cyprus, told the Financial Mirror that the main aim of the scheme, which is available until February 14, is “to introduce our bank’s branding to the local market.”
“The bank has been operating in Cyprus for the past 15 years in the corporate banking sector, serving primarily clients from our mother bank VTB and other Russian companies. The inauguration of the Nicosia branch on October 7 (by presidents Medvedev and Christofias) coincided with the decision taken a year ago to enter the retail banking sector as well,” Kalogera explained.
Asked whether RCB Cyprus would be giving the wrong impression of when 15 years ago, the likes of Inkombank would offer aggressively high interest rates of 4.5% to 15% for fixed-term deposits of up to USD 3 mln, Svetlana Kalogera said that was not the case here.
“We are only offering half a percentage above the rates provided by other banks in Cyprus, and only for a short time,” she said, adding that bank did not need aggressive sales in order to lure depositors.
“Russian Commercial Bank (Cyprus) is part of the VTB Group, which, in turn is 85.5% owned by the state and does not need to get involved with such schemes. Our bank is stable and enjoys a very strong credit rating.”
“On the other hand, as the dollar is the second most used currency in Russia and we meet higher requirements as regards liquidity in dollars, we are much more competitive when it comes to dollar deposits, transfers and cards,” Kalogera added.
For now, the Russian Commercial Bank in Cyprus is content with a head office in Limassol and a branch each in Nicosia and Limassol, employing some 150 people. As regards future plans, Svetlana Kalogera said that there are no new branch openings scheduled for the time being, “but we would like to have a branch in every town, some day.”
The Bank for Foreign Trade (Vneshtorgbank) was established in October 1990 with governmental support to encourage foreign economic transactions of Russian enterprises. After the Group-wide rebranding in 2006, all subsidiaries in Russia and abroad, including Cyprus, began to operate under the VTB brand.