OREANDA-NEWS. October 04, 2010. Vnesheconombank is to buy out Svyaz-Bank’s (RTS: SVZB) problem loans for an amount of 80-90 billion rubles, Vnesheconombank Chairman Vladimir Dmitriev told journalists about it.

“After buying out this part of debts the balance sheet would be cleaned out of bad loans”, said Dmitriev after VEB’s Supervisory Board meeting. At the same time V Dmitriev said that the appraised value of this portfolio of bad loans was about 8-9 billion rubles. The appraised value between 8 and 9 billion rubles accounts for about 10%”, said Dmitriev.

VEB’s Chairman said that at a meeting of VEB’s Supervisory Board on Thursday they discussed an issue of the progress of reorganizing Svyaz-Bank. V. Dmitriev stressed that measures for Svyaz-Bank’s financial rehabilitation were successful. According to him, Svyaz-Bank generated a net profit of 340 million rubles in the first quarter of this year and a net profit of 850 million rubles in the second quarter. Moreover, the bank’s loan portfolio and deposits are on the rise.

V.Dmitriev said that Svyaz-Bank was in need of sustainable balance sheet to implement a project aimed at creating a Postal Bank.

VEB’s Supervisory Board was informed about the progress of this project’s implementation. V.Dmitriev added that talks with partner-banks on establishing a Postal Bank are still underway. He also added that a partner was most likely to be chosen at least in a month’s time. He explained it by the fact that proposals submitted to VEB by partners on September 15 did not meet all the requirements. VEB’s Chairman added that they discussed with partner-banks such issues as to how they would compensate for the Post of Russia’s loss of incomes because of its refusal to conduct financial transactions and as to how to compensate for VEB’s expenses on reorganizing Svyaz-Bank.


VEB to Choose a Partner for Establishing a Postal Bank on the Basis of Svyaz-Bank at Least in a Month’s Time

Vnesheconombank is to choose a partner for establishing a Postal Bank on the basis of Svyaz-Bank at least in a month’s time.

According to him, Nomos-Bank or Bank Russian Standard can become VEB’s partner.

V.Dmitriev didn’t specify possible dates of establishing a Postal Bank saying that Svyaz-Bank’s re-branding into a Postal Bank could take place in parallel with talks on searching for a partner.

According to V.Dmitriev, Vnesheconomank expects its potential partners to submit proposals on how and when to compensate the Post of Russia’s loss of incomes because it is to transfer a number of its financial transactions to a Postal Bank. And of course we would like them to disclose their stand on compensating for Vnesheconombank’s expenses on reorganizing Svyaz-Bank through using the Central Bank’s deposit”, said V.Dmitriev.

According to him, they have discussed the progress of implementing decisions on reorganizing Svyaz-Bank at Vnesheconombank’s Supervisory Board meeting. They stated that the measures taken by Vnesheconombank by way of using the Central Bank’s deposit worth 125 billion rubles helped to improve Svyaz-Bank’s financial indicators and secure its sustainable development. “These measures yielded tangible positive results”, noted V.Dmitriev.

According to him, Svyaz-Bank generated a profit of 340 million rubles in the first quarter of 2010, and 850 million rubles – in the second quarter. Since the beginning of the year, the Bank has increased its loan portfolio by more than 40 percent. The amount of raised funds increased by more than 40 percent. The bank’s equity capital is about 45 billion rubles with capital adequacy ratio being more than 43 percent. This is quite a positive indicator enabling the bank to increase its transactions”, said V.Dmitriev.