Alexei Yakovitsky: VTB welcomes new investors in Russia

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Of all the changes in Russian investment banking over the last five years, none has been more remarkable than the relentless rise of VTB Capital.

As international banks have pulled back from Moscow after the imposition of western sanctions in 2014, the firm has leveraged its state ownership and hefty balance sheet to achieve an unprecedented market dominance.

Since the start of 2015, it has accounted for 22% of Russian primary equity flows, 27% of international debt capital markets issuance and a quarter of M&A business, according to Dealogic. 

VTB Capital’s rise also reflects other changes in the Russian market, in particular its increasingly domestic character. 

“The role of the domestic investor – whether strategic, private equity, family office or portfolio – has gone up massively in the past five years,” says Alexei Yakovitsky, global chief executive of VTB Capital.