BANKS WITH FOREIGN CAPITAL ARE 5-7 PERCENT IN RUSSIA

MOSCOW, March 10 (RIA Novosti) - The share of banks with foreign participation in the Russian banking sector has in recent years been at the 5 to 7-percent level and the country is not being threatened with the expansion of foreign capital, believes president of the Regional Banks' Association (Rossia) Alexander Murychev.

"This problem does not exist for Russia", he told the press conference on Thursday.

Mr. Murychev noted that the capital profitability of banks with foreign participation is several percent above the Russian banks'. According to him, the reasons are that the former have a different resource base and technologies, "expenses are much less" than of Russian credit institutions.

Association's press release notes that the number of Russian credit institutions controlled by foreign capital (over 50 percent of participation) has increased from 32 to 42 over the last five years, including with 100-percent participation from 20 to 33. Among the 50 credit institutions with biggest assets are eight banks controlled by foreign capital.

In 2004 the profitability of assets of banks with foreign participation was 3.8 percent, capital profitability 29 percent, or "somewhat above the level of such indicators in the entire banking sector", the press release reads.