When the Russian government last week named the shortlist of advisers for its asset sale programme, the lack of some of Europe's biggest banks caught the eye. No less surprising, however, was the inclusion of an auction house set up to sell art, antiques and real estate.

Russia last week named 10 advisory banks for its $60bn privatisation plans. These were: Credit Suisse, VTB Capital, Deutsche Bank, VEB Capital, JP Morgan, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, Renaissance Capital, Goldman Sachs, and the Auction House of the Russian Federation.