Mr. Alexander Gafin, an accomplished public relations and financial marketing executive, recognised in Russia for his ability to achieve improved business results, has accepted the proposal of Rietumu shareholders to join the Bank’s Supervisory Council. As a new member of the Supervisory Council, Mr. Gafin will be responsible for facilitating further successful development of the Bank in general and its PR and marketing activities in particular as well as for brand-building of Rietumu in Russia and other CIS countries, in line with the Bank’s strategy for long-term growth.
“Rietumu today – is one of few banks, which not only managed to survive the global financial crisis but also to gain considerable advantage from it. Deliberate financial and credit policy, strong management team and stable customer base contributed to Rietumu’s ability to demonstrate good results and to remain a reliable business partner for its customers. This Bank definitely has bright prospects boosted by substantial financial and intellectual resources. I am strongly convinced that this will be an interesting and creative job requiring my extensive experience and knowledge”, notes Mr. Gafin.
Alexander Kalinovski, CEO and president of Rietumu says: “Making the decision to invite Mr. Alexander Gafin to join Rietumu, we reckoned to get in our team one of the best professionals in PR and financial marketing in Russia. This market has always been attractive to us, and especially today it definitely remains one of our priority markets for further expanding our business operations across the region.”
Previous to this for the past 15 years, Mr. Gafin was a member of Russian Alpha-bank Board of Directors and implemented brand building strategy for one of the largest private banks in Russia.
Mr. Gafin is also well-known for being an organizer of large charity and cultural projects as well as megastar tours in Russia. He is also engaged in various welfare activities and is a member of the Commission of the Russian Federation for UNESCO, board member of WWF Russia; Mr. Gafin has numerous awards for his professional achievements and a major contribution to art.
Rietumu – one of the largest private banks in Latvia with local shareholders’ equity. The Bank focuses on providing a wide range of banking products and services to affluent individuals and corporate customers on regional scale – in the Baltic States, the CIS countries and Europe.
Rietumu has representative offices in Russia, the Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, France and Romania. The Bank also has a controlling stake in WestLeasing Group engaged in leasing of cargo transport, construction equipment and machinery as well as leasing of small commercial vehicles in Russia, Belarus ad the Ukraine.
Amid the global financial crisis when the majority of banks in the Baltic States suffer considerable losses, Rietumu’s net profit in 2009 was the highest out of all Latvian banks, the volume of assets – 1.4bn EUR, shareholders’ equity and reserves – 190m EUR, capital adequacy ratio –16%. Eleonora Gailisha Mass Media and Public Relations
Phone: +371-67020506
Fax: +371-67020563
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