Since the arrival of the first dedicated Western real estate lenders in Russia in 2003, an increasing number of property owners, investors and developers -- both local and foreign -- had been relaying on the availability of cheap Western bank finance for their real estate activities in Russia.
In particular, the growing activities of foreign investors were spurred by the availability of debt that provided leverage for their return and reduced their equity requirements.
At the same time, Western real estate lenders perceived Russia as a very promising emerging country, given the potential size of the market coupled with the low level of debt. In addition,
