China in auto power play
It might not shake up the industry just yet, but China's interest in Volvo and Saab is the start of something big in global autos, writes columnist Wei Gu. Commentary
Russia's Ursa, MDM eye major bank merger: report
MOSCOW (Reuters) - The owners of fast-growing Russian lender Ursa Bank and top-30 bank MDM are eyeing a merger that would create Russia's second largest private bank, Vedomosti reported on Tuesday, quoting members of the banks' boards.
The deal could be the largest in Russia's banking system, which has more than 1,100 banks and is trying to survive the financial crisis through consolidation, which has been welcomed by the state.
"The first stage will be a share swap, but it shouldn't stop there," the business daily said, quoting a source close to MDM Bank.
MDM Bank and Ursa Bank would not own more then 50 percent each in the united bank, but there will be an option to control the bank with a smaller stake, a source close to Ursa bank said, giving no details of who would control the new company.
The merger should be complete by 2010 if the first stage -- both banks bringing their shares into the joint firm -- is concluded by the summer of 2009.
The chairman of the board of directors at MDM Bank, Oleg Viugin, and the general director of Ursa Bank, Kirill Brel, both declined to comment on Tuesday.
(Reporting by Dmitri Sergeyev; editing by John Stonestreet)
