Gazprombank"s Assets Rose 56%

Gazprombank, a subsidiary of Russian energy giant Gazprom, said Monday the value of its assets grew 56%, year-on-year, in the first 11 months of 2006, to 679.3 billion rubles (about $25.6 billion).

The bank, the third largest in Russia in terms of assets, said its shareholder equity grew 34% in the reporting period, to 58.7 billion rubles (about $2.2 billion).

The bank's pre-tax profit climbed 12%, year-on-year, in January-November 2006, to 18.9 billion rubles (about $713 million) and its net profit grew 11%, to 14.2 billion rubles (about $535.8 million), Gazprombank said.

Gazprom holds an 87.5% stake in the bank.