The Bank was set up by Svenska Ekonomiebolaget, a foreign lending institution, to attract international capital to the Soviet Union and promote foreign trade in general. The Bank also issued guarantees to secure Soviet foreign trade contracts.
The Bank was nationalised and continued its active international operations as the country’s largest bank, second only to Gosbank. The Bank was intended to act as the major channel for all export and import operations and the only financial agent for the government in global financial markets.
The Bank’s functions were extended to support all commercial, economic and financial relations of the Soviet Union with foreign countries.
Vnesheconombank became the national development bank playing a key role in conducting the government investment policy.
Vnesheconombank Group combined major commercial banks of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus and specialised organisations that are engaged in, or facilitate, investment operations.
The Bank ranks 7th in the rating published by Global Finance magazine, thereby reconfirming its status of the most reliable Russian financial institution in the Central and Eastern Europe.