Russia’s VTB Bank (Foreign Trade Bank) intends to invest up to US$1.5 billion by mid-2008 in acquiring banks in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and increasing the capital of its subsidiary banks in the CIS, VTB Bank President Andrei Kostin said attending an international banking conference on Friday.

Prime-TASS cited Kostin as saying VTB Bank expects to close a deal soon to buy one of the 10 largest banks in Azerbaijan. VTB is also considering buying one of the 10 largest banks in Kazakhstan and a bank in Uzbekistan, he said.

VTB Bank is seeking to have a presence in all 12 CIS countries, either through subsidiary banks or branches, Kostin said.

Currently, VTB Bank has banks in Belarus, Ukraine, Armenia and Georgia.