OREANDA-NEWS. On April 09, 2008 Global Finance magazine has released the annual rankings of the “Best Banks and Companies in Russia” covering a range of sectors. The rankings will be published in an exclusive survey in the June 2008 issue. The winners will be honored at an awards ceremony in London on April 21st, reported the press-centre of Alfa-Bank.

Alfa-Bank came out on top in the following categories: “Best Equity Research Bank”, “Best Domestic Bank”, and “Best Domestic Trade Finance Bank” in Russia.

Global Finance editors — with input from industry analysts, corporate reports and other expert sources — selected the best banks and companies based on a variety of criteria, both objective and subjective. The factors considered included market share, profitability, evidence of long-term strategy, management quality and commitment to improvement in corporate governance.

“Russian banks and companies had a remarkable year in 2007,” says Global Finance publisher, Josef  D. Giarraputo. “And there’s every evidence that may continue in 2008. While commodity prices’ strength clearly played a large part in the robustness of the Russian economy, it was the unmistakable sign of movement towards real corporate restructuring that was so heartening, particularly in relation to a growing commitment to good corporate governance.”

Global Finance, which marks its 21st year of publishing in 2008, has 50,000 subscribers and more than 254,000 readers in 158 countries. Its audience includes chairmen, presidents, CEOs, CFOs, treasurers and other financial officers responsible for making investments and strategic business decisions for global companies and financial institutions. Global Finance also targets 8,000 key portfolio investors who control over 80% of all assets under professional management.

Best Russian Banks:
Domestic — Alfa-Bank;
Foreign — Citi;
Regional — UralSib;
Investment — Renaissance Capital;
Commercial — Sberbank;
Consumer — Citi;
Foreign Exchange — VTB;

Domestic Trade Finance — Alfa-Bank;
International Trade Finance — Deutsche Bank;
Energy & Commodity Finance — Societe Generale Vostok;
Fixed Income Sales & Distribution — ZAO UniCredit Aton;
Syndicated Loans — BNP Paribas;

Equity Research — Alfa-Bank;
Domestic Bond Research — MDM Bank;
Eurobonds Research — Trust Investment Bank;
Book Runner Primary Equities — Deutsche Bank;
International M&A Arranger — Merrill Lynch;
Asset Manager — Troika Dialog.

Best Russian Companies:
Beverages — Baltika;
Consumer — Pharmacy Chain 36,6;
Gas — Gazprom;
Media — RBC;
Non-Ferrous Metals and Mining — RusAl;
Oil — Rosneft;
Steel — SeverStal;
Telecom — COMSTAR-United Telesystems;
Utilities — Rosvodokanal.