HSBC will open five retail branches in Russia this month as part of a $200 million program to expand its local operations, bank executives announced Tuesday at a news conference marking the first branch's opening.

HSBC will open four retail locations in Moscow and an additional location in St. Petersburg and has plans to continue expanding "organically" afterward, HSBC Russia CEO Stuart Lawson said.

The bank hasn't had to divert any capital toward "mending fences," Lawson said, which has allowed it to proceed with plans to offer high-end financial services in Russia after investing an initial $100 million here last September. He added that HSBC was one of the few banks worldwide that has not accepted government bailout money.

Staged outside HSBC's first Moscow branch alongside leafy Tverskoi Bulvar, the news conference initiated a series of kickoff events, including a swanky opening party with entry "for the select few" and a three-day outdoor concert by the Gnessin State Musical College beginning Thursday.

While the concert is free for the public, those hoping to enjoy HSBC's Plus Russia services must have 75,000 rubles ($2,390) worth of savings to open a basic account and at least 1.5 million rubles worth of savings for the bank's Premiere brand, a service that sets up clients with personal account managers and allows them access to the same HSBC services globally.

Betting that affluent Russians are still in the market for internationally focused financial services, HSBC is branding itself as a portal to the non-Sberbank world.

"We're not trying to say to the marketplace that we're the cheapest debt or that we're the most expensive deposits," Lawson told The Moscow Times in an interview following the conference. "What we're saying is that you will get a well-priced offer that incorporates all these service elements."

HSBC will be following in the footsteps of Citibank, which began offering its own high-end Citigold service here in 2002.

Declining to comment on HSBC's competitors, Lawson said he thought that it was a perfect time for the bank to be entering the market.

"Some people have asked if we're too late," he said, speaking at the conference. "I don't think we are."

While the global recession has left the sector in a weakened state, HSBC has at least benefited from cheaper advertising and property prices for its new branches, said Johan Sekora, head of the bank's personal financial services in Russia.

What's more, the bank is leaving its mark with a party that, while lavish this year, might have seemed run of the mill 12 months ago.

"Sometimes it pays to be countercyclical and grow when others are leaving the market," said Tony Mahoney, head of the bank's international operations.