Igor Kim

Igor Vladimirovich Kim (Russian: Игорь Владимирович Ким; born 12 January 1966) is an investor, banker, Honored economist of the Russian Federation, who has successfully completed more than 30 mergers and acquisitions transactions with both Russian and foreign financial institutions. He is the main stakeholder of Expobank LLC (Russia) (75.5% of the authorized capital), Expobank CZ (Czech Republic) (61.30%), Expobank JSC (Serbia) (72.2%), AS Expobank (Latvia) (100%). Kim's fortune has been estimated at $460 million by the Russian edition of Forbes business magazine in 2013.

Igor Kim was born on 12 January 1966 in Ushtobe, Alma-Ata region (Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic). In 1990 he graduated from Novosibirsk State University with a degree in Economic Cybernetics with a degree in mathematical economics.

After graduation, he went into business, creating a cooperative on the basis of a local student construction team. He later traded on one of the many commodity markets of that time. In 1992, he became one of the founders of the Ruskii Narodnyi Bank (RNB, Russian: Русский народный банк). He has been engaged in banking activities for more than 20 years.

Igor Kim was one of the hundred richest people twice according to Forbes Russia, in 2009 ($ 0.4 billion) and then in 2011 ($ 0.5 billion).

• 1993 – became the main owner of the Russkii Narodnyi Bank, first becoming the Deputy Chairman of the Management Board, and later the Chairman of the Management Board.
• 1995 – appointed chairman of the board of Russkii Narodnyi Bank.
• 1998–2004 – appointed Chairman of the Management Board, and then chairman of the board of directors of Sibacadembank (Russian: Сибакадембанк).
• 2001–2004 — appointed chairman of the board of "Kaspiiskii" Bank (Russian: Каспийский банк, Kazakhstan).
• 2004 – became a member of the board of directors of Uralvneshtorgbank (Russian: Уралвнешторгбанк), becoming its chairman.
• 2005 — became a controlling stakeholder of Sibacadembank and Uralvneshtorgbank.
• 2006 — merged the two banks into one under URSA Bank (Russian: УРСА банк) brand, becoming the chairman of the board of directors of the new financial institution.
• 2008 — the shareholders of URSA Bank and MDM Bank (Russian: МДМ банк) decided to merge them, while Igor Kim was chosen as the head of the Management Board and became a member of the board of directors of the now united MDM Bank.
• 2010 — left the Management Board of MDM Bank.
• 2011 — together with partners Kim acquired Barclays Bank LLC from the Barclays banking group and returned to its purchased asset its original name Expobank LLC.
• 2012 – acquired a subsidiary bank VestLB Vostok (Russian: ВестЛБ Восток) from a major European commercial bank WestLB AG. With the participation, Expobank LLC acquired FB-Leasing from VR Leasing AG (later merged with Expobank LLC) and LBBW Bank CZ a.s., which was renamed to Expobank CZ a.s.
• 2015 – Expobank LLC acquired 100% of MAK-Bank (Russian: МАК-банк) from the ALROSA diamond mining company, which was also merged with Expobank LLC.
• In November 2015, Expobank LLC and the Royal Bank of Scotland group agreed to purchase the RBS subsidiary in Russia, the Royal Bank of Scotland CJSC. On 1 April 2016, the transaction was successfully completed. As of 1 August 2016, the Bank was merged with Expobank LLC. As part of the Achievement Awards on 9 June 2016, EMEA Finance magazine recognized the acquisition of the Royal Bank of Scotland's Russian subsidiary as the best M&A deal in 2015.
• In December 2017, Expobank LLC successfully completed a deal with the Turkish Yapı ve Kredi Bankası A.Ş. to acquire 100% stake in JSCB AKB Yapi Credit Bank Moscow. Yapi Credit Bank Moscow is the first Turkish bank to appear in Russia: in 1988 as a Representative Office, and in 1993 as a holder of a license from the Central Bank of the Russian Federation.
• 2018 — the integration process was completed and Yapi ve Kredi Bankasi A.S. was merged with Expobank. Also during this year, Expobank announced a deal to purchase 15% shares of SDM Bank (Russian: СДМ-Банк) from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (Russian: Европейский банк реконструкции и развития) . For Expobank, the deal became a portfolio investment.
• 2019 – Expobank reached an agreement with the shareholders of Kurskprombank PJSC (Russian: ПАО "Курскпромбанк") on the acquisition of a controlling stake . Kurskprombank has been operating on the market for 29 years and is the largest bank by assets in the Central Black Earth economic region.

Expobank LLC is among the top 100 Russian banks in terms of net profit, capital and net assets, and is currently occupying the 24th place in terms of profit. More than 1,200 employees work within the 50 points of service of the bank all over Russia (including Kurskprombank). In recent years, the bank has gained experience in doing business abroad, has firmly taken a niche in corporate banking, and in 2018 even mastered new operating fields: car loans and bank guarantees. The Bank is focused on introducing the latest technologies to improve the quality of the products and offered services. In September 2019, Fitch Ratings upgraded the international rating of the Expobank LLC to ‘BB-’ from ‘B+’, outlook Stable. In May 2019, ACRA affirmed the BBB + national rating, also with a positive outlook. In the same year, Expert RA assigned Expobank a rating of ruA- with a stable outlook. Ratings have never dropped.

In Novosibirsk, Igor Kim established a scholarship for students of the Faculty of Economics of NSU. Its purpose is to help out talented students and generate their interest in banking. In 4 years more than 400 people took part in the programme, 22 scholarships were paid.

Igor Kim was twice recognized as the "Banker of the Year" in Russia, first in 2003 and then 2009. In 2006 he was awarded with the Honorary Badge "For Honor and Valor" of the National Public Award "Russian National Olympus". In 2018, Igor Kim was awarded with the Honorary title "Honored Economist of the Russian Federation" (Decree No. 608 of 25 October 2018 on rewarding for services in the field of economics and finance, as well as many years of conscientious work).