Alfa-Bank has earlier acquired 100% of shares of Ukrsotsbank from the Italian banking group UniCredit.
The Anti-Monopoly Committee of Ukraine has completed its consideration of the case regarding the purchase of 100% of shares of Ukrsotsbank from the Italian banking group UniCredit by a Luxembourg-based ABH Holdings SA, owner of Alfa Bank.
The Committee`s decision No.413-r of September 8, 2016, granted permission to ABH Holdings SA for the purchase of shares of Ukrsotsbank (Kyiv), providing excess of 50% of the votes in the supreme body of the company`s management as reported on the Committee`s website.
According to the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine, in the course of the proceedings, a thorough and detailed study was conducted of the impact of this concentration on the product markets of Ukraine. Requests were sent to the experts of the banking sector and the relevant public authorities, in particular, the National Bank of Ukraine, the Independent Association of Ukrainian banks and the European Business Association.
When considering the case, the Committee found that the combined share of participants of the concentration on the results of 2014-2015, and the first quarter of 2016 in the total volume of assets of the banking system of Ukraine amounts to 7%, while the aggregate share of participants of the concentration in each of the segments of the banking market does not exceed 24%.
At the same time, as noted in the AMC, the Ukrainian banking market is highly competitive, and the majority of experts did not see the negative effects of the concentration.
As UNIAN reported earlier, ABH Holdings S.A. in January signed an agreement with the Italian UniCredit Group to acquire 100% shares of Ukrsotsbank. The deal is to be completed before year-end.
UniCredit Bank was set up through a merger of two subsidiary banks of UniCredit Group in Ukraine – UniCredit Bank and Ukrsotsbank. The process of banks integration was completed in December 2013 and the bank continued its operations under the name UniCredit Bank and was one of the largest financial institutions in Ukraine in terms of assets.
ABHH, part of Russia`s Alfa Group, is a privately-owned company that invests in several banking groups in Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States.
