VTB to ditch Bank of Moscow brand

Russia’s state-run VTB is to replace its troubled Bank of Moscow brand name and replace it with M Bank during the course of next year , according to reports in Kommersant this week. Once Russia’s fifth-largest financial institution, the Bank of Moscow had to ask for a $14bn bailout in 2011 after some of its senior managers fled Russia to avoid criminal charges in the wake of VTB’s hostile takeover. VTB reportedly intended to absorb its new acquisition shortly after the takeover, but faced Central Bank opposition because the move would have meant it was in violation of standards demanded by Basel banking accords.
Its positive assets are now to be fully transferred to VTB by May 2016, while the  toxic assets will remain within M Bank. According to its website, the Bank of Moscow currently has 9 million private customers and 120,000 corporate clients, with branches all over Russia,