STAGE SET FOR MERGERS

摘要

The total Tier 1 capital of the Top 50 Russian banks has fallen by nearly $7bn since The Banker's previous ranking. This partly reflects the weakening of the rouble in late 2008, which affected The Banker's rankings because they are calculated in dollars. But material losses at certain banks, especially the third largest in the ranking, Gazprombank, also acted as a direct drag on the total.rnDespite those losses, the Russian banking system survived with only a handful of significant bank rescues needed. One of those, Sobinbank, was absorbed by Gazprom-bank, putting further pressure on the latter's balance sheet, which had already been hit by financial market losses as the Russian stock market plummeted.