OREANDA-NEWS. On 22 December 2008 was announced, that in December UniCredit Bank has started interbank lending operations with six local banks in the major regions of Russia (Republic of Tatarstan, Leningrad region, Sverdlovsk region), henceforth taking advantage of the guarantee mechanism provided by Bank of Russia.

On the 21st of November this year ZAO UniCredit Bank, the Russian subsidiary of UniCredit Group, has signed an agreement with the Central Bank of Russian Federation (CBRF) aimed to support the expansion of local interbank lending operations of ZAO UniCredit Bank by providing a partial CBRF compensation for potential losses which may occur as result of such operations. This agreement has facilitated the credit decision-making in favour of the eligible banks, selected subject to importance of regions of their domicile for the economy of Russia.

The agreement was also signed by other biggest Russian banks.

"UniCredit Bank adheres to the prudent lending policies, carefully evaluating potential risks, including those arising on interbank market. We do appreciate the Central Bank initiative and we are confident that the Bank of Russia guarantees will help the interbank lending market stabilization, - said ZAO UniCredit Bank Chairman Mikhail Alekseev, - the availability of the Central Bank of Russia guarantees hasn’t changed our approach to the adoption of responsible lending decisions. As always, we adhere to the principle of repayment of the loans due with interest, thus capitalizing on the business partnerships developed with banks to the benefit of our customers and the economy of Russia. By the end of this year we intend to expand the lending limits for banks put on the list approved by the Central Bank of Russia".