Translated material
Insured against the WTO
Bankers and insurers create an atmosphere of cooperation
Immediately after the widely publicized banking and insurance conflict between Uraltransbank and the ROSNO company, the association of regional banks “Russia” and the All-Russian Union of Insurers signed a cooperation agreement. In their opinion, this will allow such conflicts to be resolved without washing dirty linen in public. Financiers also discussed yesterday a number of issues that arise for them as a result of Russia's accession to the WTO. They agreed that foreign structures do not pose a great threat to domestic financial institutions, given that branches of foreign banks will never be allowed into Russia, and insurers will only be able to come in nine years.The topic of the joint press conference of the head of the “Russia” association, Anatoly Aksakov, and the head of the All-Russian Union, Alexander Koval, was designated as “Russia’s accession to the WTO: possible consequences for the banking and insurance market.” Meanwhile, it can hardly be argued that this topic is currently the most relevant for both sectors of the Russian financial business, which, through the efforts of the authorities, are protected from foreign expansion.
The names of the participants in the most scandalous conflict between bankers and insurers - Uraltransbank and ROSNO (remember, the bankers claim that the insurance company has not paid them compensation for non-repayment of consumer loans since April of this year) - were not announced yesterday, although the conversation was about exactly this conflict. “Money loves silence,” said Mr. Aksakov, who is also deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Credit Institutions and Financial Markets. In his opinion, it would be beneficial for both sides of the conflict if such situations did not become known to a wide circle of people.
Now the “Russia” association includes about 400 credit and other organizations related to the banking business. More than 200 Russian insurance companies are members of the ARIA. The subject of the signed agreement between them is the creation of partnerships and joining forces “with the aim of creating favorable political, economic, legal and other conditions for the development and effective interaction of the banking system and the insurance sector in the Russian Federation, aimed at solving national strategic tasks and strengthening economic and production potential Russia." In particular, according to Mr. Aksakov, conflicts between banks and insurers can be resolved pre-trial and even before they are submitted to the Federal Service for Insurance Supervision or the Central Bank. “We will be able to consider controversial issues more effectively and substantively,” said the head of “Russia”. He said that a proposal to create “joint arbitration courts” was being considered, within the framework of which it would be possible to resolve various disputes.
“I don’t think that really serious disputes can be effectively resolved in this way,” a top manager of a large Russian bank told Vremya Novostey. -- If a monetary misunderstanding arises between a bank and an insurance company, they can reach an amicable agreement without the help of arbitration courts. But if the situation is stalemate, it is impossible to avoid trial.”
Against this background, the conditions for joining the WTO turned out to be a topic that does not require silence. According to Mr. Aksakov, the conditions for joining the WTO, which the Russian side agreed on with the United States, are not fatal for the Russian banking system. “Entering the WTO will help increase the capitalization of Russian banks and increase competitiveness. The arrival of foreign capital will be an incentive to introduce new technologies and improve bank management,” says Mr. Aksakov. However, in his opinion, it is necessary to “quickly improve the legal framework for the activities of banks in order to thereby ensure equal competitive conditions for domestic and foreign credit organizations.”
The Rossiya Association is creating several working groups to prepare bills aimed at implementing the instructions issued by Vladimir Putin following the meeting of the State Council Presidium on November 14. As you know, the government expects banks to increase the list of financial services to the population and more actively develop mortgage lending. “Even today, the domestic banking system cannot cope with the increased level of demand for financial and credit services. Moreover, investment projects implemented in various sectors of the economy do not need hot, but long-term, cheap and large loans. And more often they are provided not by Russian, but by foreign banks, whose share in the volume of lending to the non-financial sector is 40%,” Mr. Putin said then.
The head of the analytical department of the Bank of Moscow, Kirill Tremasov, emphasizes that the subsidiaries of foreign financial structures operate in the same legal framework as Russian ones. “There is healthy competition between them and domestic banks based on the quality of services offered,” he says. “So I don’t understand what legal changes need to be made to ensure a level playing field.”
In connection with the strengthening of the competitiveness of Russian banks, Mr. Aksakov spoke about the idea of merging the assets of banks in order to securitize their loan portfolios. “It is not very profitable to securitize a small number of loans, but with consolidation the operation can be much more successful,” he said. Strictly speaking, such a scheme is being implemented by the Federal Agency for Housing Mortgage Lending, which refinances banks on standard terms against mortgage loans and intends to release mortgage-backed securities to the market in the near future. Apparently, there is no such “organizer” in Mr. Aksakov’s scheme. According to the head of the sales department of the City Mortgage Bank, Igor Zhigunov, in principle, the use of this technique is possible, and there are no restrictions on the number of banks participating in such operations. However, securitization can only be carried out if the pool is made up of relatively “similar” loans, the banker emphasizes. “That is, the requirements for the amount of collateral, its quality, etc. should be approximately comparable,” says Mr. Zhigunov. -- Such operations will be of interest to those credit institutions that expect to attract long-term resources at a favorable price. After all, securitization of a large pool will make it possible to attract capital on more acceptable terms than on the debt market.”
As is known, it was not possible to defend the insurance sector at the WTO negotiations: in accordance with the agreements, the opening of branches of foreign insurance companies in Russia will be allowed only after nine years. “Nine years is a sufficient period to bring Russian legislation into line with the new realities of doing insurance business. It is necessary that the conditions for opening branches of non-residents in Russia are the same as the requirements for subsidiaries of foreign insurers operating in Russia,” says Alexander Koval.
In particular, a requirement may be imposed on its own funds - the company will have to have them in an amount equivalent to 2 billion rubles. It is also planned to impose requirements for the collection of company premiums. It is assumed that they should be no less than 200 billion rubles. per year. In addition, insurers will be required to submit a business plan. “We also believe that we have the right to accept the requirement that 50-70% of the branch’s employees be Russian citizens,” said the head of the VSS.