(7 June 2017 – China) Russia’s fourth largest lender, Otkritie FC Bank is looking to develop its business in China as part of the Belt and Road Initiative. The bank said it is planning to expand its wealth-management operation and financing products to cater for Chinese corporate clients.
“We are looking forward to cooperating with Chinese banks,” said Evgeny Dankevich, chairman of the management board at Otkritie FC Bank.
“This especially applies to the precious metals sector, the wealth-management business and financing operations for Chinese customers,” he added.
“I think the Belt and Road Initiative will promote the development of precious metals and provide us with more opportunities,” Dankevich said.
“We have been involved in precious metals for more than 20 years,” he added. “It is mainly gold and we are very experienced in the sector.”
Dankevich added that the bank has “been working together with some large banks in China, such as Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, China Construction Bank, and Harbin Bank, in businesses such as interbank deposits and settlement.”
The Russian lender has branches in Hong Kong, London, New York and Nicosia, capital of Cyprus, and has cooperated with global banks such as Citibank.
“We have investment projects in many countries, and we are willing to invest in China, if we can find an opportunity and reliable partners,” Dankevich said.
Otkritie is the largest private bank in Russia and ranks among the world's top 350 lenders. It mainly caters for corporate clients and investment banking, retail businesses and small and medium-sized enterprises as well as private banking.
Otkritie is also the largest Russian financial group by assets, worth 3.3 trillion Russian roubles (A$66.6 billion). The bank also employs 20,000 staff and has four million customers.