OREANDA-NEWS. May 31, 2008. The dynamic expansion of Home Credit Group operations in seven different countries requires the strengthening of our top management team both on country and corporate level, reported the press-centre of Home Credit Group.

With effect from June 1st and July 1st 2008 respectively the new appointments to senior management positions were made:

The dynamic expansion of Home Credit Group operations in seven different countries requires the strengthening of our top management team both on country and corporate level. With effect from June 1st and July 1st 2008 respectively the new appointments to senior management positions were made:

CFO:
From July 1st, 2008 Sonia Slavtcheva assumes the position of the Group Chief Financial Officer. Sonia Slavtcheva joins us from GE after a distinguished career spanning 20 years where she was regarded as one of the firm's top financial professionals. Ms. Slavtcheva has considerable experience in finance operations, including product profitability management, investment and real estate portfolio optimization as well as funding, treasury &hedging strategies. She had worked for a number of leading financial institutions across different geographies of Northern and Latin America and CEE.

In her new role Sonia will inherit a highly professional team in Group Financial Controlling led by Pavel Pfauser. The continuing strategic support from Declan McSweeney, former CFO of Allied Irish Bank, in his role as Board Member of Home Credit B.V., will also complement our resourcing in the finance function.

Russia:
Ivan Svitek has entered into an agreement with Home Credit Group to join HCFB Russia to lead the top management team of Home Credit and Finance Bank (HCFB). He is expected to fully assume his responsibilities from July 1st, 2008 subject to regulatory approvals and resident permits. Ivan Svitek has a distinguished career at GE, gaining 15 years of strategic and operational experience in financial services and consumer products.

His background covers the FMCG industry, public service sector as well as banking and consumer finance. He has worked across 19 diverse consumer finance markets across Europe and Latin America and his proven track record includes organizational transformation and core business turnarounds. In Brazil, for example, where Mr. Svitek spent last five years as President and CEO of the GE Money (Sao Paolo, Brazil), he advanced the bank?s business strategy from a one product to a multi-product distribution company. Ivan Svitek has an MBA in Finance from INSEAD, France.

Ukraine
With effect from June 1st, 2008 Friedrich Weisswill take on the position of Country Manager for the Ukraine. Friedrich Weiss has worked in retail banking and consumer finance for approximately 20 years. His professional experience and successful track record covers banking branch management, strategic advisory work at Board level in the transformation of banks in Central and Eastern Europe as well as retail business development.

His last assignment for Erste Group brought Mr. Weiss to the Ukraine in 2006 where he worked as Member of the Board and Head of Retail Banking for Erste Bank in Kiev. Leveraging his comprehensive banking experience and background, Mr. Weiss will focus on providing active leadership in order to develop the Ukrainian business in line with the Group's objectives for profitability and operational effectiveness.

Commenting appointments of the new Group leaders, Alex Labak, CEO, Home Credit Group, said: "The new leaders will focus on the challenges resulting from the rapid business and geographic expansion of the Home Credit Group, which currently operates in seven different countries, including the key growth markets of Russia and China. Given the importance of the Russian operations to the overall performance of the Group, Jiri Smejc will continue to provide senior shareholder oversight to our Russian franchise."