OREANDA-NEWS. May 19, 2008. Rietumu Bank acquires 50% of the WestLeasing Group. The Bank has become a co-owner of two Belarusian companies -- WestLeasing Ltd and WestTransInvest Ltd -- and is currently completing the buy-out deal with the Moscow-based WestLeasing-M Ltd, reported the press-centre of Rietumu Bank.

Since its inception, Rietumu Bank has always been operating on a wide international scale. The Bank is well-established in the Baltics, the CIS and CEE regions. At present the Bank possesses seven representative offices – in Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Lithuania, Kazakhstan, Czech Republic and Romania – and has a broad network of correspondent banks, partners and customers worldwide.

Nowadays Rietumu Bank is very successful in loans and investments projects development owing to its substantial international business experience.

“Acquisition of the leasing companies group in Moscow and Minsk is a logical milestone in Rietumu Bank’s development in Russia and Belarus. The Bank’s extensive and effective experience in combination with substantial financial resources allows us expanding this operational area considerably, enlarging the customer base and offering better conditions and opportunities of the leasing services. We do positively evaluate Russian and Belarusian financial markets prospects and plan to increase our presence in these markets,” said Mr Alexander Kalinovski, President of Rietumu Bank.    

“Rietumu Bank has been collaborating with the WestLeasing Group’s companies in the lending area for a number of years and the decision to acquire the companies’ large stake has been well-defined and financially justified. The new partnership level enables us to give an impetus for these leasing companies to develop and to open up new viable opportunities to our customers,” noticed Mr Renat Lokomet, Deputy Head of Loans and Investments Department of Rietumu Bank.  

The Director of WestLeasing, Mr Yuri Mechkovski, said, “We recognise Rietumu Bank as a stable and reliable partner and we are certain that this deal will open new opportunities for further growth and development for the WestLeasing Group. The company will consequently get access not only to financial resources allowing for enlargement of operational scale, but also to knowledge and expertise, the European quality standards and credibility”.  

Along with the acquisition of 50% equity stake in the WestLeasing Group, the Bank will control the companies’ Council, operational activity and the Group’s strategic development.  

Belarusian companies WestLeasing and WestTransInvest were established in the beginning of 2000s and are one of the leaders in the local leasing market at present. WestLeasing specialises in car leasing, whereas WestTransInvest – in leasing of road-building machinery, freight and passenger transport, building and industrial equipment to enterprises and organizations in the entire Belarus region. These companies implemented more than 400 projects as yet; such companies as MAZ, Amkodor, MAZ-MAN, Liebherr AG, BKT KAMAZauto are among its business partners. According to IPM-Consult, the West Leasing group of companies was fourth in the overall Belarus market structure and first in the car leasing, freight and special transport market (the aggregate companies’ lease portfolio amounted to USD 36 million as of the end of first quarter 2008).
 
The Moscow WestLeasing-M Company was established in 2004 and is currently collaborating with corporate customers in industrial and building equipment leasing, amongst other lease areas. According to the Expert agency, in 2007, WestLeasing-M was seventieth by portfolio size in the total ranking of the Russian leasing companies (its leasing portfolio accounted for USD 52 million as of the end of the first quarter 2008).  

The WestLeasing Group plans to penetrate the leasing market of equipment of the Ukraine, as well as other CIS markets, in the nearest future.