said March29 that its board of directors approved an exchange-traded bond program for thelender, worth up to 50 billion Russian rubles.

Bondsto be issued under the program will have a maturity period of up to 15 years,while the program itself does not have an expiration date.

Thebond program will be implemented as part of the lender's development strategyand is aimed at securing favorable conditions for its growth in prioritybusiness areas, including private, corporate and investment banking, as well asfinancial market operations, the lender noted.

As of March 29, US$1 wasequivalent to 68.99 Russian rubles.