4/11/2007

J&T FINANCE GROUP Enters the Russian banking market

MOSCOW - The Central Bank of the Russian Federation granted permission for J&T FINANCE GROUP to acquire 100% shares in of one of the Moscow banks. Russia is now the fifth country where the J&T Group pursues its banking activities.

"The Russian Federation is considered to be an extremely prospective market and our entry to this country is a part of our long-term strategy of building a strong Central European financial house focusing on the services of private and investment banking," says Jozef Tkáč, President of J&T FINANCE GROUP. "The entry to Russia expands our presence in the most important financial markets in Europe," he adds.

The purchase concerns a small bank to be used as a foundation for developing infrastructure in the Russian Federation, similarly to the acquisition of the first bank in the Czech Republic in 1998. The permission was the final precondition for finalising the acquisition. The name of the bank cannot be disclosed until the transaction will have been completed.

Following the Czech Republic where the Group obtained a banking licence in 1998; Switzerland where the Group entered the country by purchasing IBI Bank in 2005; Slovakia where J&T BANKA opened a branch in March 2006 and Greece where the Bank opened a representation for IBI Bank in 2006, Russia is the fifth country in which J&T expands its activities in the banking field.

J&T FINANCE GROUP has been an active investor in the Slovak and Czech Republic. Besides private banking and real estate development, J&T focuses primarily on long-term investments in Czech and Slovak industrial companies. For more information see http://www.jtfg.com/.