News

Viktor Shkipin appointed Head of Alfa-Bank’s Marketing Department
17 October 2008Viktor Shkipin appointed Head of Alfa-Bank’s Marketing Department — Moscow, Russia

Viktor Shkipin has been appointed Director of Marketing at Alfa-Bank. Prior to this, Mr. Shkipin was Product Development Director for Retail at Alfa-Bank, and in the near future he will oversee both operations.

Alfa-Bank’s Chairman of the Executive Board, Rushan Khvesyuk, said of the appointment,

Well-organized marketing has taken on a special significance during this period of market instability. We believe that his professional knowledge, work experience and reputation at the Bank will enable Viktor Shkipin to successfully meet the challenges he will face.We are committed to developing brand awareness and to raising the capitalization of our brand, which is rated one of the top brands in Russia.

Viktor Shkipin joined Alfa-Bank in 2007. Until October 2008, was Product Development Director for Retail.

Prior to joining Alfa-Bank, Mr. Shkipin was head of the Marketing Department at M.Video for several years. In 1996–2003, he held various positions in Coca-Cola, working as Director of Retail Marketing in the Company’s representative office from 2001 to 2003.

Mr. Shkipin graduated from Saint-Petersburg State University, department of journalism and Cavendish College, England. He holds diplomas from the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry specializing in marketing, PR and advertising.

Founded in 1990, Alfa-Banking Group offers a wide range of products and operates in all sectors of the financial market, including corporate and retail lending, deposits, payment and account services, foreign exchange operations, cash handling services, custody services, investment banking and other ancillary services to corporate and retail customers.

The corporate and retail client base has grown considerably during the last several years — by June 30, 2008 Alfa-Banking Group served over 51 000 corporate and 2.65 million retail customers, while the branch network has been extended to 301 offices across Russia and abroad.

In addition to banking, Alfa-Banking Group has FSA, CySEC and FINRA-regulated brokerage subsidiaries, and other companies located in Cyprus, London and New York.

During the first six months of 2008 Alfa-Banking Group demonstrated significant growth of its total assets to USD 28.9 billion, up 27.3% from USD 22.7 billion at the end of 2007. Net profit after tax grew an unprecedented 129.5% to USD 265.3 million, up from USD 115.6 at June 30, 2007, driven largely by growth in core banking revenues combined with effective cost control. Net interest income increased by 69.5% to $ 659.4 million from USD 389.0 as at June 30, 2007, while net commission income grew by 70.0% to $ 186.2 million from USD 109.5 as at June 30, 2007. At the same time, Alfa-Banking Group’s investment in technology and focus on cost control have been the main drivers of a significant reduction in the cost-to-income ratio to 49.7%, compared to 55.5% at the end of 2007. The Group’s gross loan portfolio grew to USD 20.2 billion at June 30, 2008, a 31.2% increase compared to USD 15.4 billion at December 31, 2007. The corporate loan portfolio rose by 31.1% to USD 17.7 billion, while loans to retail clients increased by 31.6% to USD 2.5 billion at June 30, 2008.