Uniastrum Bank
A former Russian commercial bank founded in 1994, absorbed into Vostochny Express Bank in 2017.
Last updated September 27, 2026
AI crawler reads
No AI crawler has read this profile since Oct 28, 2026.
Overview
Uniastrum Bank (Юниаструм-банк) was a Russian commercial bank founded in 1994. It grew into a nationwide retail and corporate lender with a network of branches and offices across Russia, and was a member of international payment systems Visa, MasterCard Worldwide (Cirrus/Maestro, Eurocard/Mastercard) and American Express. The bank was also a participant in Russia's mandatory deposit insurance system. In 2008, Bank of Cyprus acquired an 80% stake in Uniastrum Bank, with the remaining 20% held by the bank's founders Gagik Zakaryan and Georgy Piskov. The bank was included in the Central Bank of Russia's list of 52 credit institutions meeting international rating requirements, and it held the status of authorized bank of the Moscow government. In September 2015, Artem Avetisyan became the owner of 100% of the bank's shares and its president. Uniastrum Bank ceased operations on 20 January 2017 following a reorganization through merger with Vostochny Express Bank (ПАО «Восточный экспресс банк»). The bank's money transfer system, UniStream (Юнистрим), was spun off into a separate organization, KB UniStream, controlled by the same individuals as Uniastrum — Zakaryan and Piskov.
History
Uniastrum Bank was founded in 1994 as a Russian commercial bank. In 1996, it was admitted to the Russian payment system Union Card. In 1997, it received a professional securities market participant license (No. 138-00180-211400) and became a member of the Moscow Stock Exchange and the Russian Trading System. In 1998, it joined the Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange (currency and stock sections), gaining the right to conduct operations with foreign currency and precious metals, which allowed it to establish direct correspondent relationships with major foreign banks and conduct active operations in currencies of far-abroad and CIS countries. In January 1999, the bank opened its first branch, "Na Varvarke." In September 1999, it presented a new branch, "Olympic Plaza," in the Olympic Plaza office center on Mira Avenue. In October 1999, the board decided to increase the bank's charter capital to 100 million rubles. In 2000, it was transformed from a closed joint-stock company (AOZT) into a limited liability company (OOO). In 2001, it became a member of the worldwide interbank system SWIFT. In 2002, it joined the international payment system Visa. In 2003, it opened a branch in Perm, and in 2004, a branch in Novosibirsk. In 2006, Uniastrum Bank received the status of authorized bank of the Moscow Government. Branches were opened in Murmansk, Arkhangelsk, Cheboksary, Smolensk and Kursk. In 2007, the first specialized Mortgage Lending Center was opened in Moscow, and branches were opened in Kirov and Khabarovsk. On 31 October 2008, Bank of Cyprus completed the acquisition of 80% of Uniastrum Bank (OOO). According to Kommersant, the main owners Georgy Piskov and Gagik Zakaryan each sold equal 40% stakes, retaining 10% each and keeping their posts as chairman of the board of directors and president. On 3 July 2008, Uniastrum Bank became a laureate of the "Best Russian Brand" award. According to a decision of the general meeting of bank participants on 21 November 2008, the sole participant of the bank was Bok Rasha (Holdings) Limited, a subsidiary of Bank of Cyprus. At the same meeting, it was decided to increase the bank's charter capital by 1.2 billion rubles ($50 million) to 3.8 billion rubles. The Central Bank of Russia included Uniastrum Bank in the list of 52 credit institutions meeting the requirements for an international rating of the appropriate level, whose guarantees could secure Bank of Russia loans. A general agreement was concluded between the Federal Treasury of the Russian Federation and the bank on placing federal budget funds in bank deposits, giving the bank the right to attract budget funds from the Ministry of Finance at its auctions. After the depreciation of shares of Uniastrum Bank's general bank management funds (OFBU) on 29 September 2008 and subsequent appeals by shareholders to the Federal Financial Markets Service (FFMS), the latter suspended Uniastrum Bank's license for securities management activities. The basis was a number of gross violations of securities legislation discovered by the FFMS. Later the license was renewed, but with some restrictions — in particular, the conclusion of new accession agreements to the OFBU was prohibited. On 24 February 2009, the Moscow government extended the bank's status as "authorized bank of the Moscow government" for 18 months, allowing the bank to participate in many targeted programs of the Moscow government. In April 2009, Uniastrum Bank was accredited by the Deposit Insurance Agency as an agent bank for paying insurance compensation to depositors. Since 2001, the bank began actively engaging in urgent money transfers. The transfer system was named UniStream. Over time it came to occupy a significant share of the bank's activity and was spun off into a separate organization under the management of OAO KB UniStream. The organization is controlled by the same persons as Uniastrum — Zakaryan and Piskov. In September 2015, Artem Avetisyan became the owner of 100% of the shares and president of Uniastrum Bank. The chairman of the board of directors was Andrey Sergeyevich Nikitin, and the chairman of the management board was Alla Vadimovna Tsytovich. Previously, Bank of Cyprus owned 80% of Uniastrum Bank, with Gagik Zakaryan and Georgy Piskov holding 10% each. As of May 2009, the bank's retail network included 209 main offices, 42 branches, 155 additional offices, and 13 operating cash desks located in all major regions of Russia. It was a participant in the mandatory deposit insurance system. Additional offices of Uniastrum Bank offered a full range of banking services. For individuals, the bank offered deposits, plastic cards, consumer lending, safe deposit boxes, currency exchange operations, UniStream money transfers, and more. For legal entities, Uniastrum Bank offered deposits, settlement and cash services, various lending programs including small business lending, and payroll projects. From 20 January 2017, the bank ceased operations and was merged into Vostochny Express Bank. In February 2019, in the Basmanny Court of Moscow, Artem Avetisyan, who had been taken into custody in connection with a criminal case against Michael Calvey, founder of the Baring Vostok Capital Partners fund, was accused of withdrawing funds under the guise of fictitious transactions from Uniastrum Bank before its merger with Vostochny Bank. The case is being considered in the arbitration court in London.
- 2017
Bank ceased operations and merged into Vostochny Express Bank
- 2015
Artem Avetisyan became owner of 100% of shares and president
- 2009
Moscow government extended authorized bank status; accredited by Deposit Insurance Agency as agent bank
- 2008
Bank of Cyprus acquired 80% stake; became laureate of 'Best Russian Brand' award; charter capital increased to 3.8 billion rubles
- 2007
Opened first specialized Mortgage Lending Center in Moscow; opened branches in Kirov and Khabarovsk
- 2006
Received status of authorized bank of the Moscow Government; opened branches in Murmansk, Arkhangelsk, Cheboksary, Smolensk and Kursk
- 2004
Opened branch in Novosibirsk
- 2003
Opened branch in Perm
- 2002
Joined international payment system Visa
- 2001
Became member of SWIFT; began money transfer system UniStream
Products and positioning
A nationwide Russian commercial bank offering retail and corporate banking services, later absorbed into Vostochny Express Bank.
Deposits
Plastic cards
Consumer lending
Safe deposit boxes
Currency exchange
UniStream money transfers
Corporate deposits
Settlement and cash services
Small business lending
Payroll projects
Sources2 sources
Cite this profile: Cite the canonical profile. /brand-wiki/unastrium-bank · Editorial policy · How profiles are compiled