The history of the bank began in 1974, when the Grand Duke of Luxembourg signed a decree establishing the EWUB, which for nearly 20 years represented the economic interests of the USSR. Today, a bank owned by Sistema - one of the largest Russian public financial corporations, plays an important role in maintaining business relations between Russian and European businesses, placing particular emphasis on servicing private high net worth individuals.

Being a bridge between the East and the West and connecting businesses of Russia and the CIS countries with European partners, about 80 bank employees from 22 countries of the world serve over 500 private and corporate clients, including: individuals with assets of 1 million euros; companies engaged in international trade or business, traders, holdings, securitization and investment companies. The Bank also serves over 3,000 customers from Luxembourg and Germany through its East West Direkt online platform launched in 2017. This service was one of the first online platforms for attracting deposits of individuals in Luxembourg and showed good traction: in two years the bank attracted about 130 million euros.

The successful work of the bank on the European market is due to the fact that over the past years EWUB has systematically expanded its product line and range of services, attracted professionals, developed new technologies, introduced high standards in the field of corporate management, risk management, personal data protection and compliance procedures.

“We have always strived for dialogue and unification and will continue to implement projects, guided by this principle - to build bridges, not walls, and create opportunities for development. We believe that wealthy Russians, who legally earned their money, and successful companies with Russian shareholders are entitled to first-class banking services in Europe. For historical reasons, we deeply understand the business and regulatory environment of Europe and Russia, so we can provide Russian-speaking clients with high-quality banking services in one of the most attractive European jurisdictions. This is our unique competitive advantage,” said Sergey Pchelintsev, CEO of East-West United Bank.

“I congratulate East-West United Bank, its shareholders, managers and all its employees with its 45th anniversary and wish it continued success. East-West United Bank has been an important element in the relationship between Luxembourg as a European financial centre and at first the Soviet Union, followed by the Russian Federation. Its development underlines the international nature of Luxembourg, a keystone in the global financial system”, said Jean-Claude Knebeler, Ambassador of Luxembourg to the Russian Federation.

“My congratulations to EWUB on the longevity of your prestigious firm. This anniversary marks the time to observe and celebrate the realisation of a remarkable journey”, said Carlo Thelen, Director General of Chambre de Commerce Luxembourg.

As a multinational and multicultural company, EWUB has supported Russian cultural and educational projects in Luxembourg (to name just a few, it has been supporting the Russian school of supplementary primary education Kalinka since its founding in 2010, the annual charity Russian Ball etc.) and is actively promoting Luxembourg in Russia. On September 15, 2019 in Philharmonie Luxembourg the Mariinsky Orchestra will perform a concert under the direction of maestro Valery Gergiev with EWUB being an exclusive sponsor of the event. The concert will be followed by reception for the bank’s employees, clients and partners to celebrate EWUB’s 45th birthday.

Key facts about the bank:

• Equity – 156 million euro
• Tier-1 ratio – 33%
• 5 business lines: private banking, transactional banking, corporate banking, global markets, trade finance
• Number of employees – 80
• CEO – Sergey Pchelintsev
• Chairman of the board – Jeannot Krecke

More information about the history of the bank, which is closely linked to the history of Luxembourg, can be found on a special website dedicated to the 45th anniversary of the EWUB website 45.ewub.lu