Ukraine's Antimonopoly Committee has cleared ABH Holding S.A., the parent company of Alfa Group, to acquire Ukrsotsbank from Unicredit Group, the regulator said in a statement

The committee's comprehensive investigation found that the combination of Ukrsotsbank and ABH Holding in Ukraine accounted for 7% of Ukraine's banking system assets in 2014-2015 and Q1 2016 (pro forma), and nowhere did its share of various segments of the banking services market exceed 24%.

The Antimonopoly Committee also said that the Ukrainian banking services market was highly competitive and that the majority of experts surveyed (notably the National Bank of Ukraine, Independent Association of Banks of Ukraine and the European Business Association) said they foresaw no negative consequences stemming from the deal.

The committee also said that the applicants argued that the deal would have a positive effect on competition on the banking services market, because the combined banking group would provide competition for the big market players.