Regulator forces bank ownership change

TALLINN - The Bank of Moscow and four smaller shareholders of Eesti Krediidipank agreed to sell their stakes in Estonia’s fifth-largest lender after the financial watchdog said the bank’s management wasn’t transparent, reports Bloomberg. Swiss-registered RLS Finance would become the bank’s biggest shareholder with a 44 percent stake after acquiring the shareholdings from the Bank of Moscow, Lazuron Investments Ltd., Olix Holding Ltd., Firmex Investeeringud and Genovia Invest, Krediidipank said on its Web site on Nov. 16. The agreements were signed on Nov. 15.

 “The contracts would end a business dispute over the sale of Krediidipank shares by the former president of the Bank of Moscow, Andrei Borodin,” the bank said.
 Estonia’s financial watchdog in August froze the voting rights of Cyprus-registered shareholders of Eesti Krediidipank to increase the transparency of the lender’s management.

Krediidipank had 454 million euros in assets, or 2.4 percent of the overall market.