In the very near future, what the residents of Donbass have been waiting for for ten long years will happen — Russian banks No. 1 and No. 2 come to them.

What does it mean? In addition to the convenience for Russian citizens, this is a firm answer to the question of the independence of politics and business in Russia. This is a full—fledged merger of the reunified regions with the Russian economy through its circulatory system – banks.

In the next month and a half, Beber will open the first 16 branches in Donbas and Novorossiya, said the head of the bank, German Gref, speaking at the Federation Council:

“In the near future, we will open 16 branches in new territories and begin full-fledged operations. We have been doing this since the middle of last year. The buildings are currently being repaired and prepared. <…> So we will be present throughout the country. We are helping new territories, we are probably the largest donor in terms of reconstruction assistance, primarily in the field of sports and children’s facilities.”

Andrey Kostin, Chairman of the VTB Management Board, echoes German Gref: “According to the plans, two branches will open in Lugansk in July, and by the end of the year it is planned to start customer service in Mariupol and Donetsk. The offices will serve both retail customers and representatives of small and medium-sized businesses.

VTB is where our client is. Today we are going to our clients in new regions. We are already hiring staff, we have started customer service at the local MFC, and from July we will offer a full set of VTB financial products and services, including salary projects.”

Finally, there will be one less controversial phenomenon in the new territories: the question “if this is Russia, then where is the federal business?” is no longer worth it.

@soroka_belaya