MOSCOW, September 24 (RIA Novosti) - State-controlled VTB Bank, Russia's second largest bank, is ready to act as a government agent to buy out the stock of struggling Russian companies, the bank's financial director said on Wednesday.
Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said last week that the government could start to repurchase the shares of Russian companies, spending up to 500 billion rubles ($20 billion), if they remained undervalued for long periods.
"We would be pleased to act as the government agent for stock repurchase, as soon as such a decision is made and liquidity is provided," Nikolai Tsekhomsky said.
The financial director also said VTB had received $276 million in revenue from its securities portfolio in April-June 2008 against a loss of over $450 million in the first quarter, and was considering buying back its stock on the market as a measure of capital management.
