Ukraine, Kiev / Тrend corr Z. Novosvitski / The Russian group VTB submitted its documents to the National Bank of Azerbaijan (NBA) in order to receive permission to function in the Azerbaijani banking sector.
"We are interested in purchasing of a small bank in Azerbaijan," a VTB representative said to Trend in Ukraine, but she preferred to keep the name of the bank a secret.
She said that VTB hopes to receive permission in December 2007.
Speaking on the development plans of the group within the CIS, particularly in Azerbaijan, the President of VTB Andrei Kostin said "...the documents are in the National Bank of Azerbaijan."
According to media reports, VTB may purchase Azerbaijan's AF-bank. Previously Kostin said that an agreement on the purchase of a small bank in Azerbaijan, which anyhow is in the top 20, had been achieved. The VTB administration confirms that AF-bank is one of the entities likely to be purchased, but the Russian group is considering another two alternatives.