OREANDA-NEWS. February 06, 2012. Sviaz-Bank has made preliminary estimates of its performance results in 2011 (less operations closed after the reporting date). Its management balance shows that the Bank had 229.5 billion rubles in net assets on January 1, 2012, and its own equity (capital) had risen to 36.5 billion rubles. This means that the Bank had increased its total net assets by 20% and equity capital by 23.1% over the previous year, reported the press-centre of Sviaz-Bank.

Successful development of all the lines of the Bank’s business has helped it lay the framework for firming up its standing as an all-purpose commercial bank of a federal scale attractive to corporations and individuals alike.

Over 2011, Sviaz-Bank built up its loan portfolio of corporate customers by 50.1%, or 36.5 billion rubles, to 109.2 billion rubles. The loan portfolio of its corporate customers in quality classes 1 to 3 rose to 105.2 billion rubles, or by 58.3%, during the year. The Bank gave special attention to lending to small and medium-size businesses, with loans to them having risen by 85%, to 9.8 billion rubles, over the year.

Improvements in the line of credit products and services for private individuals had helped the Bank boost its portfolio of loans to individuals by 160%, or 8.8 billion rubles, to 14.3 billion rubles since January 1, 2011. The total loans to individuals in quality classes 1 to 3 trebled to 12.8 billion rubles. The Bank’s Military Mortgage program is now widely used in all regions of its presence through its 51 branches.

Customer funds flowing profusely into deposits with the Bank have led to growth in the balances of accounts opened with it and its resources. The funds accepted from corporate customers reached 126.8 billion rubles, 51.9% or 43.4 billion rubles more than the 2010 showing. Funds in personal deposits had risen by 31.3% to 16.8 billion rubles since year beginning.

As its response to change in the situation on financial markets, the Bank has restructured its securities portfolio to give greater weight to investments in federal and subfederal securities and corporate mortgage-backed bonds. All through 2011, Sviaz-Bank remained a leading participant of the bond issue market – by the start of 2012, the issues for which the Bank had acted as managing underwriter totaled 44.1 billion rubles, placing it sixth on the market by Cbonds’ estimates.

Efficiency of the Bank’s transactions growing with expanding business and new customer groups signing on, Sviaz-Bank succeeded in raising its net profit to 3.7 billion rubles by January 1, 2012. It also earned a net operating income of 7.7 billion rubles for the whole year 2011, or 18.6% more than it did in 2010.

An upgrade in one of the international ratings was confirmation of the Bank’s strong performance. Last December, Standard & Poor’s Agency raised the Bank’s long-term credit rating from BB- to BB, and its rating on the national scale, from ruAA- to ruAA. Analysts have a positive forecast for its ratings. In their view, the quality of the Bank’s assets and its lending base are sustainable. In turn, sustainability will enable the Bank to keep to its chosen business strategy in the market segment of its choice and to retain its status as a strategically significant subsidiary of the Vnesheconombank Group.

In 2012, the Bank’s principal objectives will be promoting active transactions, diversifying its customer base, developing and launching new products and specialized technologies for all groups of customers, changing over to remote banking services in its mass-scale transactions, and expanding its network of branches, among others.