Russian VTB Bank signed a cooperation agreement with diamond mining company ALROSA at the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) to sell investment diamonds at its Private Banking offices.
VTB Privilege clients will also be able to use the service. The bank became the first in the country to include investment diamonds in its product line.
According to ALROSA's press service, sales of investment diamonds increased significantly when VAT on diamond purchases by individuals from banks was abolished in Russia in 2022.
"Initially, the procedure for purchasing investment diamonds was only possible at ALROSA offices, which held back sales in the regions. Now we have restructured the sales process - purchases are available on the bank's premises in all premium network offices. This will meet the growing demand for our joint product from wealthy clients. Since the beginning of the year, about 50 transactions have already been completed in test mode, and now we expect a multiple increase by the end of the year,” commented Dmitry Breitenbicher, Senior Vice President of VTB.
“This is not the first year that we have been cooperating with VTB in the field of investment diamond sales. Today, it is the leading bank in our country in this area. In the first half of 2024 alone, investment diamond sales in it doubled (+101%) compared to the same period last year,” said Sergey Barsukov, Deputy CEO of ALROSA.
Theodor Lisovoy, Managing Editor, Rough&Polished
