Hand of Moscow

Regional banks find new owners in the capital

Russian banks continue to buy other credit institutions with government support. As it became known at the end of last week, Binbank will acquire the Ufa-based Bashinvestbank, and Sarovbusinessbank will become the owner of Nizhegorodpromstroybank. Both transactions are carried out with the help of the Deposit Insurance Agency (DIA). Exactly how much funds the state allocates to support Bashinvestbank and Nizhegorodpromstroybank is not reported.

The official announcement of the purchase of a 76% stake in Bashinvestbank by B&N Bank will take place this week. At the end of October, the National Bank of Bashkortostan reported that Bashinvestbank was experiencing a technical liquidity gap due to citizens withdrawing funds from deposits and accounts in amounts exceeding those planned. “According to available information, the owners and management of the bank are taking the necessary measures to correct the situation and financial recovery of the bank with the participation of a major investor,” the message said. Then documents requesting financial assistance to the Ufa bank were sent to the Central Bank. In the Interfax-CEA ranking, Bashinvestbank ranks 352nd in terms of assets. At the end of the third quarter, according to the ranking, the volume of private deposits of Bashinvestbank amounted to 2.4 billion rubles, assets - 3.47 billion rubles.

The press service of B&N Bank told Vremya Novostei: “Bashinvestbank is present in the largest cities of the republic, and we are interested in this region for business development.” And the president of B&N Bank, Mikhail Shishkhanov, added: “We do not exclude the possibility of acquiring other regional banks with the support of the Central Bank and the DIA, since expanding the presence of B&N Bank in the regions of the country is an important stage in our regional development.”

In total, since the end of October, when the law “On additional measures to strengthen the stability of the banking system in the period until December 31, 2011” was adopted, the state has decided to rehabilitate eight banks, most of them regional. At the end of last week it also became known that Sarovbusinessbank, with the support of the DIA, signed an agreement on the financial rehabilitation of Nizhegorodpromstroybank. At the same time, banks experiencing problems turn for help not only to the state, but also to large financial and industrial groups. On Friday it became known that the Yekaterinburg bank Severnaya Kazna is negotiating to attract AFK Sistema as an investor. An open letter from the chairman of the board of directors of the bank, Vladimir Frolov, states: “Starting October 15, the bank introduced forced restrictions on the early withdrawal of funds from deposits. The purpose of these restrictions was to stop the outflow of funds and prevent the collapse of the bank's solvency. This goal has been achieved." In addition, loans from the Bank of Russia and Sberbank totaling 6 billion rubles were sent to help the bank ensure normal servicing of payments from industrial enterprises and other legal entities. Bank shareholders also help solve problems. On Friday it became known that Gazprombank decided to set limits on additional financing for four of its regional banks.

Natalia ROMANOVA