Hansapank                     NEWS RELEASE                02/27/2004 12:30



HANSABANK WILL EXPAND RUSSIAN LEASING ACTIVITIES



Hansabank will establish a new leasing company in Russia, which will

focus on the Moscow and St. Petersburg region. While the Group’s

current Russian leasing operations are directed on financing the

transit sector, the new company will start to finance new product

groups, such as real-estate and equipment.



Indrek Neivelt, CEO of Hansabank Group, "Our start in the Russian

market has been very successful - in a little more than a year our

portfolio has grown to 171 million dollars. The aim of this new

company is to support the expansion of our clients’ operations in

Russia."





Mart Tõevere

Head of investor relations

+372 6131 569