05 August 2003 15:54
RUSSIA: AIG SIZES UP MORTGAGE MARKET
AIG and the Russia's state construction committee (Gosstroi) signed an agreement on 29 July to cooperate on
housing legislation and mortgage-related issues, from underwriting to the creating of a secondary mortgage market,
RIA-Novosti reported the same day. AIG chief Maurice Greenberg commented, "We've already had the experience of
developing a legislative and normative basis for mortgage insurance in other countries, and we're ready to share it
with our Russian colleagues." Greenberg was just as upbeat at a 28 July meeting with President Putin, speaking of
American business's growing interest in the Russian economy, RBC reported on 30 July . Not everyone was thrilled to
see AIG position itself at the center of Russia's nascent mortgage market, however. "Gosstroi has become the
agent for transferring the Russian mortgage market to foreign companies, primarily American financial giants,"
Gazeta.ru wrote on 28 July. "And this is happening with the obvious approval of the president." DK Copyright
(c) 2003. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
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RUSSIA IN FACTS
