Weekly news:

TOP NEWS

Central Bank raises interest rates on loan, REPO and deposit operations

Medvedev signs law to clamp down on stock market price manipulation

SURVEY

Ruble stabilization – the mechanics

OPINION

Global crisis will bring West, Russia closer – German expert

Russia needs own financial system with ruble as local currency – speaker

FINANCIAL POLICY

Russia to continue efforts to join Financial Stability Forum

New rules on bank mergers to enter force Feb 20

State Duma raises bank capital requirements

Russian Finance Ministry holds consultations on $5 Bln loan to Ukraine

Russia to pay Bulgaria $38.5 mln of former Soviet debt

FMS provides info on hundreds of billion rubles in suspicious transactions

Housing Fund places 10 bln rubles among banks

City of Moscow to offer 13 bln rubles in bonds Feb 18

OFFICIAL COMMENTS

Russia can keep budget spending without costly borrowing - Medvedev

No reasons for lower ruble – Kremlin aide

Russian defense budget to be cut by 15% in 2009 - parliamentarian

A former and a current deputy to Russian finance minister suspected of major embezzlement – committee

U.S. supports Russia’s WTO entry - Burns

STATISTICS

Russian international reserves fall $4.6 bln in week

Ruble deposits drop 2.1% in Dec; foreign currency deposits up 43.3%

Econ Ministry forecasts Russian inflation at 1.4%-1.6% in Feb – source

Russia sees 0.5% inflation so far in Feb – Rosstat

Ruble falls 7.4% against major currencies in Jan – CB

Russia had 3.38 trillion rubles consolidated budget surplus in 11 mths – Rosstat

Russian trade surplus shrinks 47.5% to $4.6 bln in Dec – CB

Federal tax revenue in Russia up 9% in 2008 to 4.08 trln rubles

Russia’s broad monetary base declines 22.4% to 4.3 trln rubles in January

Currency demand in Russia soars 47% to record $18.9 bln in December - Central Bank

Total trading on all RTS markets up 10% to $756.5 bln in 2008

Top ten Russian insurers boost premium collections 15% in 2008

CENTRAL BANK

CB puts shares on lombard list for the first time

CB eases requirements on bank liquidity in correspondent accounts

Russian banks able to access correspondent accounts in dollars and euros since Feb 5 - CB

CB sells $40 bln of reserves so far in 2009 compared with $70 bln in whole of 2008

Central Bank reduces net dollar sales 40.5% in Jan

CB offers to compensate seven more banks for inter-bank market losses

CB to send special representatives to 30 banks in second half of Feb

Banks get 88.4 bln rubles at 6-mth loans auction, cut-off 17.05%

Banks get 14.8 bln rubles at 5-week loans auction, cut-off 17.5%

Central Bank to offer 155 bln rubles in1,5, 3,0-mth unsecured loan auctions on Feb 16, 17.

Central Bank to offer 275 bln rubles in six-month unsecured loans on Feb 20

Bank Saint Petersburg buys back $75 mln in Eurobonds from market

CB pulls three Russian banking licenses

Banks could use promissory notes in strategic enterprises to get refinancing

RUSSIAN BANKS

SHAREHOLDER STRUCTURE

VTB, Sberbank likely to place ordinary shares to boost capital – Finance Ministry

Borodin, Alaluyev boost stake in Bank of Moscow to 23%

Promsvyazbank to hold share split

LOANS

Russian bank association chief denies foreign debt restructuring reports

VTB transfers bad loans into new division: VTB Debt Center

INVESTMENT

Gazprombank acquires 85% stake in OMZ majority owner

FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS

VEB plans to place forex bonds in March

Promsvyazbank signs $25-mln loan agreement with Canada’s EDC

URSA Bank buys back 15% of 2010-Eurobond issue for 59 mln euros

Petrokommerts Bank to place bonds totaling 11 bln rubles in 2009

Bank Saint Petersburg buys back $75 mln in Eurobonds from market

FINANCIAL RESULTS

Sberbank sold 260 tonnes of precious metals to individuals in 2008

VTB boosts assets 20% to 3 trillion rubles in Jan; net profit – 13.2 bln rubles

VTB loan portfolio to real sector up 11% since start of 2008

VTB 24 boosts net profit seven-fold in 2008

RATING ACTIONS

S&P assigns Russia’s AHML ’A-3’ short-term rating, negative outlook

S&P says 2008 rating actions on EEMEA deals due to sovereign/counterparty downgrades

Fitch upgrades Russia’s Krasnoyarsk territory

Fitch affirms VTB-Leasing, outlook negative

NONBANK FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS

Rosgosstrakh chief: number of insurance cos in Russia could shrink to 200

TRENDS

Ruble posts major gains while dollar and euro plummet for week of Feb 9-13

DOWNWARD TREND DOMINATES OFZ MARKET

RUSSIAN EUROBONDS CONTINUE TO SLIDE

RTS surges over 20%

RESULTS OF RUSSIAN STOCKS TRADING IN RUSSIAN TRADING SYSTEM

STOCK INDEXES

CIS AND THE BALTIC

UKRAINE

Fitch downgrades Ukraine to ’B’ with negative outlook

Yushchenko alarmed by lack of understanding between govt, IMF mission

Tymoshenko certain IMF will continue lending to Ukraine

Ukrainian finance minister tenders his resignation

Tymoshenko asks G7 to assist getting $5 Bln loan

PM: Ukraine to have new finance minister soon

Ukraine had 2.9% inflation in Jan; 22.3% in 12 mths

Ukraine’s inflation could top 9.5% in 2009 -Yushchenko

Ukraine’s monetary base down 3.6%, money supply 4.6% in January

Ukraine Natl Bank aims to revive mandatory sale of foreign currency revenue

Raiffeisen Bank Aval makes 50% preterm payoff of $500 mln loan

VEB provides Ukraine’s Prominvestbank with first loan tranche

VEB to provide Ukraine’s Prominvestbank with $610 mln to support liquidity

Ukraine Natl Bank proposes role for Alfa Bank at troubled banks

Moody’s downgrades Ukraine’s Bank Nadra to Caa2/B3.ua/E from B2/A3.ua/E+

S&P downgrades Ukraine’s Nadra Bank to ’CC’, places it on CreditWatch negative

Fitch puts Ukraine’s Bank Credit Dnepr on Rating Watch Negative and withdraws ratings

BELARUS

Belarus national-definition gold, forex reserves decline 8% in Jan

Belarusian inflation hits six-year high of 4.1% in January

Belarus says GDP has grown 4% over a year

Belarusian GDP up 4.2% in January

Belarusian broad money supply contracts 2.4% in Jan

Belarus not renouncing its national currency– Lukashenko

KAZAKHSTAN

Kazakh National Bank: currency market stable

Devaluation minimizes cost of crisis for Kazakhstan - Nazarbayev

Kazakh president confirms plans to pull out of capital of BTA, Alliance banks

VEB and Kazakhstan Export Credit Insurance Corporation sign partnership memorandum

Kazakh Halyk Bank raises $40 mln loan from Citibank

KYRGYZSTAN

Global crisis has not impacted Kyrgyz economy, not reason for currency devaluation – Bakiyev

Kyrgyz president ratifies agreements with Russia

TAJIKISTAN

Tajikistan repays loans requested by IMF for inaccurate information

AZERBAIJAN

World Bank ready to offer Azerbaijan $70 mln in preferential loans before July 2009

Azerbaijan’s foreign debt up 23% in 2008

GEORGIA

IBRD to provide Georgia $70 mln loan for road restoration

Georgia’s intl reserves down 9.8% in Jan

ARMENIA

Armenian Central Bank lowers refinancing rate to 6.75% from 7%

MOLDOVA

Moldova’s GDP rises 7.2% in 2008

LITHUANIA

Lithuania’s balance of payments deficit at 13% of GDP in 2008

Nb: This news report features only the headline of each news.

Agency Interfax