OREANDA-NEWS. Russian capital will keep expanding its presence of Belarus’ banking market in the next few years.

Denis Kalimov, Board Chairman of Belarus’ Alfa-Bank, made a statement to this effect on Thursday at the 3rd international forum Capital Market of Belarus.

Of 32 banks operating on the Belarusian market there are 5 Russian banks with state capital. On the whole, foreign banks hold one third of total assets of Belarus’ banking system.

Foreign banks increased their market shares after the 2011 crisis, and they account for 47% of the sector’s total net profit, Kalimov said.

“At the moment, the National Bank of Belarus is facing a dilemma: which is best – Russian or western banks? According to our studies, Russian banks make the most of Belarus’ foreign banks and they hold 75% of total assets of Belarus-based foreign banks and 60% of customers’ assets,” Kalimov said.

The situation will remain unchanged for the next few years to come: Russian capital will keep a dominant position on Belarus’ banking market, Kalimov said.

Under the terms of the Customs Union Treaty, Belarus is supposed to host affiliated branches of Russian and Kazakh banks, Kalimov said. In his opinion, there will be more foreign banks coming to Belarus, including European banks, the expert said.