The first wholly Indian-owned commercial bank in Russia has opened in Moscow with the aim of boosting trade and economic cooperation between the two countries.

The opening of the Commercial Bank of India LLC (CBI) should be good news for traders in both countries who have previously had to cope with a lack of availability of letters of credit (L/Cs) to finance transactions between the two countries.

Trade financing

Operating under Russian law, the bank is offering various services to corporate clients, including L/Cs and guarantees, as well as several other trade finance services for exports and imports. The bank will also offer working capital finance and term loans for equipment.

CBI is a joint venture of the State Bank of India and Canara Bank, which hold 60 per cent and 40 per cent stakes respectively.

More Indian banks

For the time being the bank's operations will be confined to commercial business, but after two years of operations CBI says it can start to write retail business for the burgeoning Indian community in Russia.

Separately, a senior Russian banker has told DC World News that India's largest private sector bank, ICICI, has also applied for the license to opena wholly owned subsidiary in Russia.

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