| Vneshtorgbank invests up to $75 million in retail on the basis of Guta Bank Government-owned Vneshtorgbank intends to invest from 61 to 75 million dollars in the development of its retail business on the basis of Guta Bank. VTB announced these decisions of its supervisory board yesterday. Experts believe that Guta Bank, under a new name, may well become one of the leaders in retail banking, and its shares may be offered to international institutions that not so long ago dreamed of entering the capital of Vneshtorgbank itself.
On Friday, VTB's supervisory board approved a concept within which the group's business will be restructured. “The universal banking group of Vneshtorgbank will consist of a parent corporate bank (VTB itself - Ed. ), a subsidiary specialized retail bank (Guty - Ed. ) and subsidiary banks in Russia, the CIS and Europe," it is reported in VTB press release. According to Reuters, which cites a source on the VTB board, Guta Bank will be renamed Vneshtorgbank-24 or Vneshtorgbank-retail.
VTB notes that the rapid growth of the retail subsidiary’s business will be based on “additional investments in infrastructure development” - from 17 to 21 billion rubles, “which will allow it to achieve a positive financial result by the end of the third year of its activity.” The bank could not clarify what exactly is meant by investment in infrastructure development. Vremya Novostei's interlocutor in banking circles believes that “this is a fairly broad formulation,” and for leading banks such investments in retail are “a very average amount.”
For VTB, it is important, first of all, to provide Guta Bank technologically so that it can place the funds received as part of the transfer of retail business at break-even. At the same time, VTB makes it clear that its support for its retail subsidiary will not be limited to cash injections. Thus, its retail network will consist not only of the existing offices of Guta Bank, but also “additional offices and operational cash desks of VTB and its subsidiary banks.” “Thus, already in 2005, the retail bank will have a specialized sales network in 40 regions of Russia,” says the press release. Guta-Bank will be able to save on costs through this network. VTB expects that its subsidiary bank will become “one of the most technologically advanced” on the Russian market. And one of the Moscow bankers notes: for Guta Bank to become one of the largest retail players, it is enough to simply transfer private deposits of the state bank there.
Meanwhile, as government sources say, international investors who sought to enter VTB capital will also have the opportunity to buy shares of Guta Bank. Previously, these included the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the International Finance Corporation, Deutsche Bank, and the Italian Mediobanca. However, their negotiations on VTB, having encountered Andrei Kostin’s reluctance to see foreigners as shareholders, are no longer ongoing: recently, during a visit to Ukraine, the head of VTB announced that the sale of the bank is not planned in either large or small packages, but instead its management prefers bring shares to the open market. How foreigners, primarily the EBRD, which spent a lot of effort and money to get a stake in VTB, reacted to this development of events is still unknown.
VTB acquired 85% of Guta Bank for 1 million rubles. in July, after he stopped work amid a “crisis of confidence.” To help VTB carry out the takeover, the Central Bank placed $700 million in deposits with the state bank at the LIBOR rate. A few days after the completion of the transaction, Vneshtorgbank President Andrei Kostin announced his desire to maintain Guta Bank as a separate structure, which should become part of the VTB Group. And at the beginning of the year, Mr. Kostin made it clear that the retail business of the group would most likely be transferred to a separate structure, which would become Guta Bank. Yuri VERETENNIKOV |
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