MOSCOW. (Anatoly Gorev for RIA Novosti) - Western strategic investors make no secret of the fact that Russia's financial and loan groups are very attractive to them, especially when they have a network of subsidiaries, client base and a good credit history (at least in Russia).

But such a flimsy thing as the corporation's brand does not have much weight in their eyes. So little, in fact, that they almost invariably seek to drop the old name and give their purchases their own corporate names.

Recent statements by Italy's UniCredit group and Austria's Raiffeisen International go to support this observation. The former acquired Mezhdunarodny Moskovsky Bank (MMB) last year, and the latter, Impexbank. This fall both of these Russian financial and credit institutions will be renamed: one will operate under the name of UniCredit, and the other will be known to clients and competitors as Raiffeisenbank.

For market participants, both of these events may prove crucial. When Societe General acquired two Russian banks - Promek-Bank and Stolichnoye Kreditnoye Tovarishchestvo, or Capital Credit Company (SKT) - and set up on their basis a financial structure under the umbrella title of Rusfinansbank, this surprised no one. The Promek-Bank and SKT brands were never amongst the "iconic." But Impexbank and MMB have long been on the market and are known fairly widely. Nevertheless, their new owners have decided to rename them. Why?

The answer to this question, experts explain, should be sought both in the overall strategy of buyers and in the specifics of the Russian banking market. Major foreign financial groups - UniCredit and Raiffeisen International are among them - in principle tend to drop locally colored names of banks they buy. Some of these banks, whose brands are worth billions of dollars, do not even discuss the matter when concluding a deal. Citibank, for example, has no subsidiary in the world that has kept its original name. All the banks this American group has purchased were rechristened in their turn, and now function under the umbrella of their new "parent" brand.

In fairness it should be said that there are no rules without exceptions. Sometimes (although very seldom), foreign financial groups abandon this strategy. Societe Generale, for example, decided to keep the brand of the Czech Commercial Bank. According to experts, the explanation was that the organization could be compared with Russia's Sberbank in popularity and recognition. A change in the brand might have lost it clients, which, understandably, the new owner was not interested in.

The irony of fate is that Sberbank's analogue in the Czech Republic has retained its old name, but in Russia, it looks as if none of the purchased banks can expect such an outcome.

The brands of Mezhdunarodny Moskovsky Bank and Impexbank are living out their final days. A renaming of KMB-Bank, purchased by Italy's Intesa group in 2005, is not far off either. The truth is that none of the Russian banks has cultivated its brand long enough to be sorry to part with it, experts explain. According to them, this becomes evident when comparing the value of Western and Russian bank brand names. The difference in value between, for example, the Sberbank and Citigroup brands is in multiples of ten. What, then, is there to say about less formidable national financial and credit organizations? They have no option left but to accept a newly given name graciously.

Of course, you should not forget that these banks are reasonably well known and fairly successful. But they do not lead the Russian financial market. Perhaps the situation would have been different if some or other group had targeted, say, Russian Standard Bank or Alfa Bank, to say nothing of Sberbank. But a purchase of Sberbank, which is today's undoubted leader in the mass banking retail segment, is too fantastic to consider, and a purchase of Russian Standard is very unlikely, because its owner appears to be very pleased with the performance of his financial structure.

Experts think Alfa Bank, too, is unlikely to give up a controlling stake in its stock or sell itself to a Western strategic investor. Rather, you can assume that this Russian bank will hold an IPO in the foreseeable future and change the structure of its stock somewhat. But its name will remain unchanged, which cannot be said of other Russian banks now eyed by foreigners - both those who already own Russian bank assets and those looking for an "admission ticket" to Russia's market.

Anatoly Gorev is a financial analyst.

The opinions expressed in this article are the author's and do not necessarily represent those of RIA Novosti.