In Brief: Alaska Bank to Delay $2M Russia Investment

Amid Russia's financial turmoil, National Bank of Alaska, Anchorage, has decided to put on hold its $2 million investment in an ailing Russian bank.

In May, the $2.9 billion-asset company said it would invest the funds in Far Eastern Bank, a $100 million-asset bank in the port city of Vladivostok. The transaction also included a seat on Far Eastern's board. "We're going to wait for things to settle down," said Donald Mellish, chairman of the bank's executive committee.

National Bank of Alaska, which already does business in the region, said the investment would benefit its own Russian and American customers in the oil, construction, and fishing industries.

-Matt Andrejczak

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