OREANDA-NEWS. February 17, 2014. Russian President Vladimir Putin held a meeting with Petr Aven, Chairman of the Board of Directors at Alfa Banking Group, at his residence in Novo-Ogarevo. Vladimir Putin and Petr Aven discussed situation in the banking sector and current performance of the bank.

President asked about "health" of the bank in the current economic environment. Petr Aven said that the last year was quite successful for the bank: "Our retail credit portfolio grew by 42 percent, liabilities — by 29 percent. In the corporate sector our growth was not so fast: mostly we were „clearing-up“ the portfolio, keeping an eye on its quality, and yet it grew more by 6 percent". Petr Aven also noted that: "There are no reasons for serious concerns. All in all, the financial sector is coping with the situation and so are we. Our equity grew by 17 percent over the year".

During the discussion the theme of "toxic" loans was touched upon, and Peter Aven affirmed that the bank has no problems with the "toxic" loans: "Today the rate of late payments in our corporate portfolio is just 1.5 percent", — he said. Petr Aven underlined that the bank has quite an immune situation: "We are very conservative; we have always perused an aggressive policy in the creation of provisions. They grew up again by nearly 9 percent. Therefore, we are very well insured".

"Presently, the bank has over 100 thousand corporate customers. We are crediting practically all sectors of the economy. Our lending to small and medium-sized business is going with a priority growth rate", — said Petr Aven.

Talking about global economic situation, Vladimir Putin asked Petr Aven why investors are moving out funds from the emerging markets. In the opinion of the Chairman of the Board of Directors at Alfa Banking Group the key reason is the tightening of the FRS monetary policy in the West. Both participants agreed that it affects many countries, especially India. Meanwhile, Petr Aven has noted that the situation in Russia is much smoother. Last year was good for Alfa-Bank: "11 million people hold their deposits with us, and this number grew 2 million over the year, which is indicative of a healthy situation".