On Monday, Sovcombank had signed an agreement to acquire General Electric's local banking unit. Although the Russian bank did not disclose any financial information, it said the acquisition would be finalized after securing required regulatory approvals.
Sovcombank belongs to the top 60 banks in Russia in terms of assets. GE Money Bank's local unit was rated among the top 150 biggest banks in terms of assets. The acquisition of Sovcombank was believed to have been strategic, as GE Money Bank's consumer lending margins are high.
GE's recent exit was seen as one of the many departures made by foreign banks from the Russian market. According to a report by Reuters, foreign banks needed capital from its offshore units to fund increase capital requirements at home. HSBC, Santander of Spain, and UK's Barclays had already exited from its operations the Russian region.
When asked for comment about the buyout, the local unit of GE Money Bank refused to provide one.
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