Sberbank buys Vyatka Bank. "Novaya Gazeta" learned about the cashless sale of the "daughter" of Sberbank in Ukraine
The owner of Vyatka Bank Grigory Guselnikov is going to buy a Ukrainian subsidiary of Sberbank. According to media reports, as part of the deal, he intends to transfer his Russian assets to Sberbank, including 98% of Vyatka Bank shares. Under whose brand will " Vyatka Bank"What development scenarios await him and what his clients and employees now need to prepare for, Svoykirovsky understood.
Author: Elena Zholobova In public space, this story began on March 13 in the center of Kiev, when Ukrainian radicals poured concrete into the entrance to the branch of Sberbank of Russia and issued an ultimatum: if the Ukrainian subsidiary of the Russian bank did not officially stop working by April, they would “close »All branches of Sberbank in the country. Three days later, Kiev imposed sanctions on five Russian banks operating in Ukraine. On the same day, the head of Sberbank, German Gref, said that his company was looking for opportunities to leave the Ukrainian market as quickly as possible. And on March 27, Sberbank of Russia officially announced the conclusion of a legally binding agreement on the sale of the Ukrainian subsidiary.
The new owner of Sberbank's Ukrainian assets will be an investment consortium, which includes the Latvian bank Norvik Banka, controlled by Grigory Guselnikov, and a Belarusian company owned by Said Gutseriev, the son of the famous Russian businessman Mikhail Gutseriev. The amount of the transaction was also named - $ 130 million. As Novaya Gazeta clarifies, this is less not only equity capital bank, but even market value one and a half hundred objects in which branches of the Ukrainian subsidiary of Sberbank worked.
Mikhail Shevelev. Photo by Nikolay Pikhtin
- In both cases, the place of decision-making is not the city of Kirov. Sberbank's closest management is located in Nizhny Novgorod, « Vyatka Bank»- a branch of a Latvian bank. I cannot now talk about the equivalence or inequality of this exchange, because I don’t know which assets will be transferred. Sberbank's Ukrainian network is quite high-quality, seriously capitalized and prepared both in terms of personnel and premises, and in terms of the entire technological system and computer security. On the other side, " Vyatka Bank"- this, in my opinion, is also a fairly high-quality bank in terms of providing services, and in terms of customer focus. That " Vyatka Bank"Will come under the control of Sberbank - this is the most likely scenario. This means that Sberbank will have to do something with it. This deal is unusual for him. This is not VTB, which segments its services by banks: VTB24 works with individuals and small businesses, VTB North-West is aimed at large corporate clients, and the former Leto Bank was engaged in micro-lending. For Sberbank, this is a complex approach from the point of view of business management. And we must not be mistaken: the Kirov region is not that interesting in terms of the formation of its own segment banks within the region. In addition, with the existing network, include branches " Vyatka Bank"Sberbank is also an absurd case. So, in my opinion, it is not advisable to combine these branches under a single brand. This means that Sberbank will most likely resell this asset to someone, because it is easier and more understandable. On the one hand, they will not upset the balance of power in the region, and on the other hand, they will remain in benefit. Therefore, under what brand will ultimately work " Vyatka Bank"- this is an open question for today. Other specialists financial sphere on the contrary, it is believed that “ Vyatka Bank"Can be a very profitable acquisition for Sberbank.
We do not know for certain that the decision on the deal was made in a hurry. This is what some media say, but in general, such transactions are being prepared for several months, because it is required to carry out preliminary calculations, check all the reports, '' a source close to Sberbank shared his opinion on condition of anonymity. - If after checking it turns out that, for example, half of the bank's loans are overdue, then the value of its assets will immediately fall. I am sure Sberbank understood what it was like “ Vyatka Bank"And he probably made sure that there are no" skeletons in the closet ". For Sberbank, reputation is very expensive. Yes, at Vyatka Bank»Last year there were difficulties, there were checks by the Central Bank and the Investigative Committee, but they did not reveal any serious problems. Plus over the past few years " Vyatka Bank»Carried out many actions to distribute credit cards and attracting small businesses, many clients came to them for service. Therefore, I believe that the acquisition of " Vyatka Bank»For Sberbank - a deliberate purchase, not a forced operation or twisting of hands.
According to the source, for regional office Sberbank's new asset is, first of all, a good opportunity to get a new flow of clients without additional efforts, since the client base “ Vyatka Bank»Is valuable for a large segment of small businesses and loyal individuals, which in any case will not interfere with Sberbank.
I think that the first steps of Sberbank's regional leadership will be to analyze all the best practices, and Vyatka Bank definitely has them, after which it will start rebranding and other measures aimed at strengthening Sberbank's positions in the region. As for the new offices, most likely, their location and customer flow will be analyzed, and then a decision will be made to close or not close certain branches. At one time, Sberbank, even in the city, closed several rather advantageous points, so that the offices “ Vyatka Bank"Is an opportunity to restore service in those areas where Sberbank closed. There are reliable methods that make it possible to determine how it is economically profitable to locate a bank branch in one place or another on the map, and I think that for the next three years the management of Sberbank will be provided with this work. But so far, as far as I know, the decision on rebranding has not yet been made. As for the possible sale of the asset to another market participant, a source close to Sberbank said that this is unlikely. “For Sberbank, such quick purchase and sale transactions are not typical. If there was such an idea, I think Sberbank would never have announced that the deal had taken place, ”he is sure.
What should employees prepare for?
The most painful selling process is " Vyatka Bank"Will become for its employees, experts are sure. In their opinion, first of all, top managers are expected to be laid off.
It is clear that two bosses cannot be on the same network, says a source close to Sberbank. - I do not think that cashiers need to prepare for something bad, especially since this is a long process. And the managers will be analyzed, tested, and then the question of professionalism - who will stay to work.
But Konstantin Kropanev believes that the greatest risk right now lies with ordinary employees, since in any further scenario, personnel optimization can be expected. But it is difficult to predict how large-scale these cuts will be.
Should customers worry?
Experts do not exclude that in the event of a transition, “ Vyatka Bank»Under the Sberbank brand or selling it to a third party, he may lose some of his clients.
The change of owner increases the level of uncertainty, which is why some clients can play it safe and go to other banks, - says Mikhail Shevelev. - This is the underlying reason: no matter what the further course is, since a change of management is taking place in banks, it can give rise to some destabilization and outflow of clients. Though " Vyatka Bank”Has repeatedly proved that changing brands and owners only leads to strengthening his position.
Konstantin Kropanev. Photo: facenook.com
Konstantin Kropanev has a similar opinion:
If, nevertheless, Sberbank becomes the main shareholder " Vyatka Bank", Then this is a significant plus for depositors. With clients, it is more and more difficult, as in "Vyatka Bank" the client is specific. Those who wanted to be served at Sberbank are already served there. And in " Vyatka Bank"Go after something else. Someone liked the service of this institution, for some banking products the conditions are more favorable there. So it's not a fact that those who are now served in " Vyatka Bank", Want to go to Sberbank.
At the same time, all the experts we interviewed agreed that the current clients “ Vyatka Bank»Nothing to worry about. Firstly, the sale process itself is not fast, only for the approval of the transaction by the Ukrainian Central Bank it can take from six to nine months. Moreover, the deal can be artificially delayed in order to aggravate the political situation. Secondly, according to sources, Sberbank now really does not yet have an understanding of what to do with the new Kirov asset. But even in the event of a brand change or sale, “ Vyatka Bank»To another market participant, all obligations to borrowers, depositors, participants salary projects and other clients will be kept in the same volume and under the same conditions.
In 2017, the sale of Sberbank is expected. Photo: EPA / UPG
The sale price of the Ukrainian subsidiary of Sberbank of the Russian Federation to the consortium of investors is not yet known, but it will be significantly lower than the bank's capital, which is estimated at about $ 140 million. After the transaction is closed, the bank will change its name, which has already been announced by its new owners. At the same time, the future of the asset is very vague.
PJSC Sberbank, which is currently a subsidiary of the Russian Sberbank, is expected to be sold in 2017. Earlier it became known that. Said Gutseriev is the majority shareholder of the consortium, in which he owns 55%, Grigory Guselnikov owns 45%.
The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) has not yet received an official notification of the sale of Sberbank. At the same time, most likely, the National Bank is already aware of the terms of the upcoming transaction, at least at an informal level. And this cannot but rejoice the NBU, since the tense situation around the subsidiaries of Russian banks, in particular, Sberbank, does not contribute to the improvement of the international reputation banking system Ukraine.
"The regulator is now more than interested in removing the situation that creates unhealthy excitement around the banking system, because there is always an element of instability and chaos. In addition, all this looks very bad in the eyes, including the IMF, which never welcomes Illegal pressure mechanisms. And, therefore, there will be no special problems in the issue of approval of the purchase. Moreover, if the company has European jurisdiction, then it will be considered as a plus in the process of agreeing on this issue, "- said in a comment to" Apostrofu "the adviser to the President of the Association of Ukrainian Banks Alexey Kushch.
However, despite the obvious Europeanness of the future shareholders of Sberbank, many questions remain regarding the upcoming transaction.
In particular, it is not clear why the bank will receive the name Norvik Banka, if this bank is not the majority shareholder in the consortium acquiring it ( parent bank may subsequently increase its share, but why is it not done at the stage of purchase)? What is the role of the unnamed Belarusian company through which Said Gutseriev is buying Sberbank? What are the real motives of buyers of the Ukrainian subsidiary of Sberbank?
Debt Sales Specialist valuable papers investment company Dragon Capital Sergei Fursa believes that the announced buyers of the bank are purely nominal.
"These shareholders have not needed a bank in Ukraine for 100 years. And they buy it at the big request of someone in the Kremlin. Or the Kremlin itself. And now the main thing is to understand what will happen next," he said.
According to the expert, there are two options in this situation. "They buy it to drain it. Or to hold it until better times," Fursa said.
The answers to all these questions, obviously, will not appear soon.
Also, in connection with the sale of Sberbank, you should not expect other state banks of the Russian Federation to leave the Ukrainian market quickly. So, in particular, says the head of the analytics department investment company Concorde Capital Alexander Paraschiy.
Vitaly Shapran also agrees with him. “I think that (the sale of the Sberbank subsidiary) will not accelerate, but, on the contrary, will satisfy the raging public,” he said.
Victor AvdeenkoFound a mistake - highlight and press Ctrl + Enter
After leaving Norvik Banka, he can count on working with defense industry enterprises.
Kirovsky Vyatka-bank was removed from the international banking group Norvik. Major shareholder of both financial structures Grigory Guselnikov intends to control Vyatka Bank without the intermediary of Norvik Banka. Experts point to the formal nature of the deal and believe that Vyatka-Bank may become “ bargaining chip"In Mr. Guselnikov's attempts to buy the Ukrainian subsidiary of Sberbank of the Russian Federation.
The Latvian Norvik Banka and its main shareholder Grigory Guselnikov concluded a deal with the shares of Vyatka Bank (Kirov region), as a result of which the Kirov bank ceased to be a subsidiary of the Latvian financial institution... The bank notes that now Mr. Guselnikov and his family will control Vyatka-Bank without an intermediary in the person of JSC Norvik Banka. The bank does not specify how the deal was carried out. Grigory Guselnikov was not available for comment yesterday. According to the president of Vyatka-Bank, Sergei Tuvalkin, the transaction was approved by the Central Bank of the Russian Federation back in 2017. As a result of its implementation, Vyatka-Bank completely separated from the Latvian bank. “If earlier they were not connected with each other only financial transactions, then communication through the share capital has been liquidated, ”the bank said in a statement. “Old shareholders have returned to us, who have always cared about the well-being of our bank, have always prioritized the interests and rights of our depositors. From now on, Vyatka-Bank acts independently, without regard to European banking realities. This is the most correct and optimal way that could be realized, "said Mr. Tuvalkin. At the same time, the president of Vyatka-bank notes that due to the participation of Norvik Banka, the activities of the Kirov bank were complicated - it could not buy bonds of the Sberbank of the Russian Federation and work with enterprises of the military-industrial sector. These problems have now been resolved.
As a reminder, in October 2014, Norvik Banka became the owner of 97.75% of shares in Kirovsky regional bank OJSC "Vyatka-bank", which before that from the end of 2010 was owned by the Cyprus company Opidius Holdings. Its ultimate beneficiaries were Grigory Guselnikov and his father Alexander Guselnikov. Norvik Banka noted then that the decision to acquire a controlling stake in a Kirov credit institution would simplify the bank's ownership structure and make it more transparent. At the same time, the ultimate owner of Vyatka-Bank remained the same. In April 2015, a decision was approved to increase authorized capital Vyatka Bank for 1.4 billion rubles. by placing an additional issue of shares by closed subscription in favor of, in particular, Norvik Banka, the Guselnikov family and a number of top managers of the bank. In October of the same year, OJSC AKB Vyatka-Bank was re-registered as PJSC Norvik Bank.
According to Kirill Yakovenko, an analyst at Alor Broker, the situation with Vyatka-bank “is extremely difficult to call a deal, it is rather a technical separation of it from the structure of Norvik Banka”. “Changes in the structure of shareholders will only take place de jure. De facto, the owner in the person of Grigory Guselnikov, who owns, in addition to Vyatka and the conditionally head Norvik Banka, will remain the same, ”said Mr. Yakovenko.
He believes that theoretically the withdrawal of foreign Norvik Banka from the Vyatka Bank shareholders opens up an opportunity for the latter to take part in servicing the public sector and, in particular, in lending to enterprises of the military-industrial complex, including those under sanctions: “At least the bank's management is now actively leaning towards this version. But, in my opinion, the argumentation looks rather tense. There are no prohibitive legislative restrictions on the sector of banks with foreign capital in lending government orders, at least formalized. But it is difficult to imagine Vyatka among the banks for which this activity would be the main one. I do not think that the spin-off of Vyatka from Norvik Banka will lead to any cardinal changes in this regard. "
At the same time, Kirill Yakovenko noted that "more interesting is the possible connection of the" deal "with the story of the purchase by Grigory Guselnikov and businessman Said Gutseriev of the Ukrainian" daughter "of Sberbank of the Russian Federation, which did not take place due to the refusal of the National Bank of Ukraine." “It is quite probable that Norvik Banka's entry into the capital of the Russian credit institution could become the reason for the refusal to complete the transaction. I do not exclude that what is happening is a link in a rather long chain of events, within which Norvik Banka and Sberbank can exchange assets and Vyatka-Bank in the future may already really change the owner, however, the benefit of the state bank from such a transaction is not obvious, "the expert believes.
On March 27, the Ukrainian party "Civil Corps", created on the basis of the "Azov" battalion, announced the curtailment of the action to block the work of branches of the Ukrainian "subsidiary" of Sberbank of Russia. The action began on March 13, when Ukrainian radicals concreted windows and the entrance to a bank branch in the center of Kiev. At the same time, an ultimatum was put forward that if the Ukrainian "daughter" of the Russian bank did not officially stop working before the beginning of April, they themselves would "close" all Sberbank branches in the country. Already on March 16, Kiev imposed sanctions against all five Russian state-owned banks operating in Ukraine. The head of Sberbank, German Gref, said on the same day that the company was looking for opportunities to leave the Ukrainian market as quickly as possible. And on March 27, Sberbank of Russia issued an official press release on the conclusion of a “legally binding agreement on the sale of the Ukrainian subsidiary.
Activists have blocked the branch of the "daughter" of Sberbank. Photo: RIA Novosti
Later it was reported that the investment consortium of the Latvian Norvik Banka, controlled by Grigory Guselnikov, and a Belarusian company owned by the son of the main owner of Rusneft and the Safmar group, would become the new owner of 100% of Sberbank's Ukrainian subsidiary. The amount of the transaction was also named - $ 130 million. This is less than the bank's equity capital. And even less than the market value of one and a half hundred real estate objects owned by the Ukrainian subsidiary of Sberbank (these are premises throughout Ukraine, in which bank branches operated).
In addition, the assets of the Ukrainian subsidiary of Sberbank at the beginning of the year amounted to UAH 48.356 billion (about 100 billion rubles). The total amount of deposits - 18.798 billion hryvnia (37 billion rubles), of which deposits of individuals - 11.417 billion hryvnia (22 billion rubles).
In April 2015, German Gref informed Vladimir Putin that the loan portfolio of the Ukrainian subsidiary of the largest Russian bank was about $ 4 billion, but more than 50% of the portfolio was not serviced. The experts we interviewed agreed that the situation with the loan portfolio has not changed much over the past two years. Both in terms of volume and the ratio of “bad” and “good” loans.
Even in the very credit institution According to our sources in the Savings Bank of Russia, the assets of the Ukrainian subsidiary are estimated at almost $ 2 billion.
At the disposal of "Novaya" were documents from which it follows that negotiations on the sale of the Ukrainian "daughter" began last year.
Judging by the "Plan of Basic Steps for the Purchase of Sberbank Ukraine", by January 31, Sberbank of the Russian Federation had to provide preliminary data "on the express analysis of the loan portfolio" of the Ukrainian subsidiary. By February 10, they had to make "the final calculation and the final appraisal of the business value of Sberbank Ukraine" and "agreeing on the general parameters for evaluating the transaction."
Noteworthy is the item "Plan ..." "a preliminary decision on the possibility of excluding the bank from the list of sanctions in the United States for the transaction." The solution to this issue was taken by the British citizen Grigory Guselnikov, who controls Norvik Banka, who negotiated the purchase of the Ukrainian subsidiary of Sberbank.
Until March 10, a "preliminary discussion of the deal with the regulator in Ukraine" was to take place.
Activists' mark 'the Sberbank branch:' Russian bank". Photo: RIA Novosti
Judging by the chronicle of the development of events, the discussion took place, but the conversation turned out to be non-constructive. It was then that, apparently, they decided to involve activists of the Civil Corps party in the "negotiations", who, let me remind you, on March 13, began an action to block the branches of the Ukrainian "subsidiary" of Sberbank.
There are suspicions that the President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko became a "participant" in the deal, having approved on March 16 sanctions against banks with Russian capital operating in Ukraine.
Sberbank could not withstand such powerful pressure. And on March 27, he signed a "legally binding agreement on the sale of the Ukrainian" daughter ".
Novaya has learned that the deal to sell the Ukrainian subsidiary of Sberbank does not provide for a monetary component.
According to our information, Guselnikov transfers to Sberbank of Russia 98% of Vyatka-Bank, which has been controlled by Guselnikov since 2014. In addition, he transfers to Sberbank land plot in the Moscow region, estimated at $ 13.6 million, the Hilton Yekaterinburg ($ 19.8 million) and Hilton Mozhaisk ($ 25.5 million) hotels, as well as refinanced loans in the amount of $ 23.4 million received operators of the Hilton Kirov and Hilton Perm hotels.
Exchange of assets between Sberbank of the Russian Federation and structures of Grigory Guselnikov. Infographics Alexey Komarov / "Novaya Gazeta"
It is noteworthy that in the Kirov region Sberbank has an extensive network of about five hundred branches. And Vyatka-Bank is a direct competitor of the Kirov branches of large bank Russia. Sberbank agreed to accept 98% of Vyatka-bank shares as payment for the shares of the Ukrainian subsidiary in order to immediately liquidate a competitor in not the largest and most successful region of the Russian Federation? An exchange is too unequal.
Novaya's sources suggest an alternative scenario: the sale of the Ukrainian subsidiary of Sberbank could be an agreed deal between Russian and Ukrainian figures who wished to remain in the shadows for now, but provided a public attack on the branches of the Ukrainian subsidiary of Sberbank and the imposition of sanctions against Russian banks operating on Ukraine. And then these are most likely not British citizens Guselnikov and Gutseriev, who can be called operators, but not the beneficiaries of the transaction.
Petr Sarukhanov / "New"
Grigory Guselnikov. Was born on February 25, 1976 in Novosibirsk. Graduated from Tomsk Polytechnic University with a degree in Economics, since 1996 has been working in banking... In 2001, he headed the retail business department of B&N Bank, and by 2008 he became its president. In 2010, Guselnikov left B&N Bank and became the head of the board of directors of Vyatka Bank.
In February 2012, Guselnikov announced unscheduled inspections in Vyatka Bank by the Central Bank. The inspectors, according to him, were interested in the accounts of the "Fund for Support of the Initiatives of the Governor of the Kirov Region" (at that time it was Nikita Belykh) and " Legal company Navalny and Partners ". Guselnikov also said that a request came to the bank from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, in which it was ordered to transfer to the police a list of foreign counterpart companies and municipal enterprises Kirov region, served in his bank.
In December 2013 Guselnikov as a partner investment fund G2 Capital Partners acquired 50% plus one share of the Latvian Norvik Banka, and in June 2014 increased its shareholding to 82%. In October 2014, Norvik Banka became the main shareholder of Vyatka Bank, and in July 2015, Guselnikov's Kirov asset received a new name - Norvik Bank (according to the Central Bank of the Russian Federation as of March 1, 2017, its assets amount to 13.6 billion rubles).
Guselnikov is familiar to the Russian audience as a member of the “What? Where? When? ”, Of which he has been the keeper of traditions since 2010. In November 2015, Guselnikov took part in the program as an expert.
In one of his interviews, Guselnikov called making money a soulless occupation. “I would have stopped doing this with interest. All emotional things are not connected with earning, but with wasting, ”Guselnikov said.