Russia’s Nomos-Bank has unveiled plans to expand its private banking business in Samara City and the province of Samara, where the bank expects to have five to ten per cent of the market share by 2011, reports Samara Business Consulting.

The report said that according to the bank the private banking market in the region is worth RUB16 billion ($527 million) and will rise to RUB19 billion ($625.7 million) by 2011. The bank’s main competitors are large regional banks and state-owned banks, Vyacheslav Urvanov, the bank’s regional head, is quoted as having said.

The minimum deposit for regional clients of Nomos-Bank’s private banking services is RUB2.5 million. The bank’s private banking service is currently used by 10 wealthy individuals from the province of Samara and over 2,000 wealthy individuals across Russia.

According to Mr Urvanov, the prospects for the development of private banking services in this region are good as competition between banks is not as strong as in Moscow or Saint Petersburg.

Nomos-Bank plans to attract clients by offering a full range of services and products, said Maria Runkevich, head of the private banking division. Ms Runkevich is also reported to have said that each client will be provided with two managers – one in Samara and one in Nomos-Bank’s Moscow head office.

Nomos-Bank appointed Maria Runkevich as head of its private banking division in July; she joined as deputy head of private banking in April 2008.