Jun. 18--TOKYO -- Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. said Thursday it has founded a subsidiary in Moscow in order to better serve Japanese firms operating in Russia, one of the world's emerging economies.

The new bank, called ZAO Sumitomo Mitsui Rus Bank, acquired a banking license Wednesday and is due to begin operations later this year, the Japanese bank said.

The Russian bank has a capital of 1.6 billion rubles or about 4.8 billion yen.

Sumitomo Mitsui, under the wing of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc., has followed moves by Japan's two other major banking groups -- Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. and Mizuho Financial Group Inc. -- which already have Russian units.

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