Alongside the suspension of real estate activities in Eastern Europe, Kardan is trimming its financial services operations, which are traded on the Amsterdam Euronext exchange at a market cap of about NIS 1 billion. These operations include two banks in Russia and Ukraine, which offer consumer loans, mortgage, pension, insurance and asset management services from Slovakia to Turkey.
While Kardan's bank in Russia is continuing to give loans, the Ukrainian bank has stopped in light of that country's tough economic situation, which prompted the government to ask the International Monetary Fund for $16.4 billion in assistance last November.
"Russia is a safer environment than Ukraine," Ickovics said, adding that the future of Kardan's financial activities in Ukraine depended on the overall economy there.
