Vneshtorgbank to raise more than $6bln in 2006

MOSCOW, February 8 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's state-owned foreign trade bank Vneshtorgbank (VTB), signed an agreement Wednesday with an international rating agency on the provision of rating services to the bank's group, the VTB press office said.

The rating support to be provided by Fitch Ratings will help the bank develop its operations on global financial markets, and to raise funds for the Russian economy, the press office said.

Alexei Akinyshin, deputy board chairman at VTB, said the bank's strategy was to expand the range and volume of its international operations, taking into account its borrowing program for 2006, which will exceed $6 billion.

Vneshtorgbank is Russia's largest borrower abroad. It has so far obtained more than $5 billion in loans on international markets.

VTB has subsidiaries in CIS countries and Western Europe, including Great Britain, France, Switzerland, Germany, Ukraine, and Georgia. It also has offices in Italy, China, India and Belarus.

In August 2005, VTB launched a specialized retail bank, Vneshtorgbank 24.