The sale price of the Ukrainian subsidiary of Sberbank of the Russian Federation to a 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 deal is closed, the bank will change its name, as its new owners have already announced. However, the future of the asset is very vague.

PJSC "Sberbank", which today is a "daughter" Russian Sberbank is expected to be sold in 2017. Earlier it became known that Sberbank agreed to sell its Ukrainian asset to two British citizens of Russian origin. Said Gutseriev is the majority shareholder of the consortium, in which he owns 55%, Grigory Guselnikov owns 45%.

Apostrophe has already written that both buyers of the Ukrainian Sberbank are indirectly connected with the Russian Binbank. It is possible that this financial institution decided, taking advantage of the opportunity associated with the introduction of sanctions against Russian state-owned banks in Ukraine, to acquire, let's say, "cheaply", a tidbit asset.

It is no secret that PJSC Sberbank has suffered losses lately. The last time the bank recorded a profit was in 2014.

According to the National Bank of Ukraine, as of January 1, 2017, PJSC Sberbank had assets in the amount of UAH 48.356 billion and ranked 6th among 93 banks operating in the country according to this indicator. In 2016, the Ukrainian subsidiary of Sberbank received a net loss of UAH 2.82 billion.

Bean-go!

Said Gutseriev is the son of Mikhail Gutseriev, one of the richest Russians, co-owner of Binbank (39.3589%). The cousin of Gutseriev Jr. Mikail Shishkhanov is the majority shareholder (59.4064%) and the president of Binbank. The Gutseriev clan is considered the most rich family The Russian Federation, according to Forbes magazine, its overall fortune is estimated by the publication at almost $10 billion.

Context

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Forbes 03/29/2017 Binbank is one of the leaders of the Russian banking market, one of the top 30 largest credit institutions in the Russian Federation (at the end of 2016 it was in 12th place).

Binbank is known for its policy of acquiring other financial institutions, primarily in the regions of Russia.

In 2008, Binbank entered the capital of Bashinvestbank, and in 2013 joined it with the status of a branch in Ufa. In 2014, Binbank became the owner of Moskomprivatbank, one of the leaders in Russian market bank cards. At the end of 2014, it was announced that Binbank was acquiring five banks of the Rost group as part of their financial recovery.

In 2015 Binbank bought Uralprivatbank (Yekaterinburg). In the same year, a controlling stake in MDM Bank was acquired.

In 2016, DNB Bank (Murmansk) was merged with Binbank, which was previously one of the largest financial group Norway DNB.

Grigory Guselnikov worked at Binbank in 2001-2010, including, since 2008, its president. In 2010, he left Binbank to concentrate on the development of Vyatka-Bank (Kirov, RF), which was owned by his family.

In 2013, Guselnikov acquired 50% +1 share of the Latvian Norvik Banka. In 2014, he increased his stake in the bank to 83.63%. In the same year, Norvik Banka bought Vyatka-Bank, which became known after that as PJSC Norvik Bank.

Experts admit that PJSC Sberbank will replenish the piggy bank of the shareholders of the Bin group (now known as Safmar).

“Now nothing can be ruled out,” the head of the analytics department told Apostrophe investment company Concorde Capital Oleksandr Parashchiy, answering the question of whether the "daughter" of Sberbank could be under the control of Binbank.

“Most likely, Binbank is expanding its presence at a convenient moment,” a member of the Ukrainian Society of Financial Analysts, Chief financial analyst RA "Expert Rating" Vitaly Shapran.

Although the group itself strongly denies this. "The Safmar Group, Binbank are not involved in this transaction. These are the personal investments of Said Gutseriev," Sergei Klyuchenkov, head of the group's information policy and strategic communications department, told RIA Novosti.

Until better times

After the deal is closed, PJSC Sberbank will change its name. Grigory Guselnikov stated this in an interview with Ekho Moskvy. “It will be renamed. Apparently, it will bear the name of Norvik Banka, because it will be a subsidiary of the European Norvik Banka,” he said.

Guselnikov declined to name the price at which the consortium would acquire the asset, citing, in particular, the relevant agreement with the seller.

Experts believe that PJSC Sberbank is currently worth no more than $100 million.

“The price is from $50 to 100 million, but not more,” Vitaly Shapran told Apostrophe.

Oleksandr Parashchiy gives an even more specific estimate: "The price could be within half of the bank's capital, that is, about $70 million."

However, the sources of the Russian "Kommersant" call a different amount - about $ 130 million.

The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) has not yet received official notification of the sale of PJSC Sberbank. At the same time, most likely, the National Bank is already aware of the terms of the forthcoming deal, at least at an informal level. And this cannot but please the NBU, since the tense situation around the subsidiaries of Russian banks, in particular, Sberbank, does not contribute to improving the international reputation banking system Ukraine.

“The regulator is more than interested now in removing the situation that creates an unhealthy hype around the banking system, because a certain element of instability and chaos constantly arises. 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 coordinating the purchase. Moreover, if the company has European jurisdiction, then it will be considered as a plus in the approval process. this issue", - said in a commentary to "Apostrophe" Advisor to the President of the Association of Ukrainian Banks Oleksiy Kushch.

However, despite the obvious Europeanness of the future shareholders of Sberbank, there are still many questions regarding the upcoming deal.

In particular, it is not clear why the bank will be named 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 this not done at the stage of purchase)? What is the role of the unnamed Belarusian company through which Sberbank is buying Said Gutseriev? What are the real motives of buyers of the Ukrainian subsidiary of Sberbank?

Debt Sales Specialist valuable papers investment company Dragon Capital Sergey 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 until better times, ”Fursa believes.

Answers to all these questions, obviously, will not appear soon.

Also, in connection with the sale of Sberbank PJSC, you should not expect a quick exit from the Ukrainian market of other state-owned banks of the Russian Federation. So, in particular, the head of the analytics department of the investment company Concorde Capital, Alexander Parashchiy, believes.

Vitaly Shapran agrees with him. “I think that (the sale of the subsidiary of Sberbank) will not speed up, but, on the contrary, will satisfy the raging public,” he said.

The materials of InoSMI contain only assessments of foreign media and do not reflect the position of the editors of InoSMI.

The purchase of the Ukrainian "daughter" of the Russian Sberbank by the Latvian Norvik Banka will take place as part of an exchange with the Russian Vyatka Bank. Grigory Guselnikov, a shareholder of the Latvian Norvik Banka, a Russian millionaire, informed Hromadsky about this.

"There will be an asset swap in this deal. Norvik will change Russian bank into Ukrainian. Unfortunately, or fortunately, we cannot afford to have a bank here and there. And frankly, I don't offend Russians, but I say openly that we don't want them in Russia. Therefore, we will exchange and partially it will be an exchange agreement," he said.

Answering the host's clarifying question about whether it was Vyatka Bank, Guselnikov said "most likely."

“Yes, we are leaving, maybe from a fatter market, maybe a poorer market, but I think this is a more promising market. entrepreneurial activity only possible under free market economy, and when the right of ownership is not exactly the right of ownership in the country, it is very difficult to do business there," Guselnikov added.

Prior to that, he had already stated that, along with the main deal, Norvik Banka planned a number of measures to reduce its presence in the Russian banking market. According to Guselnikov, this will increase the efficiency of investments and eliminate a number of political risks associated with the geography of the bank's operations.

According to Kommersant's sources, buyers will pay about $130 million for the Ukrainian Sberbank. Previously, potential buyers estimated the bank at $450-680 million.

On March 27, it became known that Norvik Bank (Latvia) of Russian banker Grigory Guselnikov and a Belarusian private company Russian businessman Saida Gutserieva

After leaving Norvik Banka, he can expect to work with defense industry enterprises.

Kirovsky Vyatka-Bank withdrawn from the international banking group Norvik. Major shareholder of both financial institutions Grigory Guselnikov intends to control Vyatka-Bank without the mediation of Norvik Banka. Experts point to the formal nature of the deal and believe that Vyatka-Bank can become a "bargaining chip" in Mr. Guselnikov's attempts to buy the Ukrainian "daughter" of Sberbank of the Russian Federation.

The Latvian Norvik Banka and its main shareholder Grigory Guselnikov made 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 organization. The bank notes that now Mr. Guselnikov and his family will control Vyatka-Bank without an intermediary in the person of AO Norvik Banka. How the transaction was carried out, the bank does not specify. Grigory Guselnikov was not available for comment yesterday. According to the President of Vyatka-Bank Sergey Tuvalkin, the deal was approved by the Central Bank of the Russian Federation in 2017. As a result of its implementation, Vyatka Bank completely separated from the Latvian bank. "If before they were not connected only financial transactions, then the connection through the share capital has also been eliminated, ”the bank said in a statement. “Old shareholders have returned to us, who always cared about the well-being of our bank, always put the interests and rights of our depositors as the highest priority. From now on, Vyatka-Bank operates independently, without regard to European banking realities. This is the most correct and optimal way that could be realized,” Mr. Tuvalkin noted. 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 - he could not buy bonds of the Savings Bank of the Russian Federation and work with enterprises in the military-industrial sector. Now these problems are solved.

Recall that in October 2014 Norvik Banka became the owner of a 97.75% stake in the Kirov regional bank OJSC Vyatka-Bank, which until then, since the end of 2010, was owned by the Cypriot company Opidius Holdings. Its ultimate beneficiaries were Grigory Guselnikov and his father Alexander Guselnikov. Norvik Banka then noted that the decision to acquire a controlling stake in the Kirov credit institution 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, in particular, of Norvik Banka, the Guselnikov family and a number of top managers of the bank. In October of the same year, JSCB Vyatka-Bank was re-registered as PJSC Norvik Bank.

According to Alor Broker analyst Kirill Yakovenko, 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 shareholder structure will only take place de jure. De facto, the owner in the person of Grigory Guselnikov, who owns, in addition to Vyatka, and conditionally the head of Norvik Banka, will remain the same, ”said Mr. Yakovenko.

He believes that, theoretically, the exit of the foreign Norvik Banka from the shareholders of Vyatka-Bank opens up the possibility 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 a minimum, precisely the bank's management is now actively leaning towards this version. But, in my opinion, the argument looks rather strained. Some prohibitive legislative restrictions on the site of banks with foreign capital there is no state order in lending, at least formalized ones. But it is difficult to imagine Vyatka among the banks for which this activity would be the main one. I don’t think that the separation of Vyatka from Norvik Banka will lead to any fundamental 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 subsidiary of Sberbank of the Russian Federation, which did not take place due to the refusal National Bank Ukraine". “It is quite likely that it is the entry of Norvik Banka into the capital of the Russian credit institution could lead to a refusal to complete the transaction. I do not rule out that what is happening is a link in a fairly long chain of events, within which Norvik Banka and Sberbank can exchange assets and Vyatka-Bank in the future can really change its owner, however, the benefit of the state bank from such a transaction is not obvious, ”the expert believes.

In the public space, this story began on March 13 in the center of Kyiv, when Ukrainian radicals poured concrete over the entrance to the branch of Sberbank of Russia and put forward an ultimatum: if the Ukrainian subsidiary of the Russian bank does not officially stop working by April, they themselves will “close” all branches of Sberbank in the country. Three days later, Kyiv imposed sanctions against 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 already 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 the Ukrainian assets of Sberbank 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 not only less equity bank, but market value one and a half hundred real estate objects in which branches of the Ukrainian "daughter" of Sberbank worked.

Also, Novaya Gazeta reported that the payment for the Ukrainian assets of Sberbank would be made not in cash, but by transferring assets. According to the publication, in addition to several Russian hotels and land plot in the Moscow region, Grigory Guselnikov will transfer to Sberbank of Russia his 98% stake in Vyatka Bank (it is under this brand that Norvik Banka, owned by Guselnikov, operates in the Kirov region). Later, both Sberbank and Norvik Banka denied the information about the absence of a monetary component in the transaction, but not the fact of the asset exchange itself.

Grigory Guselnikov. Photo: rus.db.lv

However, back in March, Grigory Guselnikov himself, in an interview with the Ukrainian channel Hromadske Telebachennya, did not hide the fact that the purchase of Sberbank assets in Ukraine would take place as part of an exchange with the Russian Vyatka Bank.

Reference

PJSC "Norvik Bank" (trademark "Vyatka Bank") - Russian commercial Bank, founded on November 22, 1990 and is one of the largest banks in the market financial services Kirov region. The Vyatka Bank service network consists of 37 offices, 14 of which are located in the regions of the Kirov region, 17 in Kirov, one in Moscow, two in Perm, two in Yoshkar-Ola and one in Nizhny Novgorod.
According to the financial information portal banki.ru, as of March 2017 PJSC Norvik Bank ranks 179th in terms of assets among Russian banks, 206th in terms of the amount of loans issued and 126th in terms of deposits of individuals. At the same time, the bank ranks 556th in terms of return on assets and 78th in terms of overdue loans.

So will Vyatka Bank be sold to Sberbank of Russia, and if so, what fate awaits it? We asked this question both to the banks themselves and to independent experts.

At Vyatka Bank, in response to our request, they explained that the official conclusion of the transaction requires the preparation and consideration of a large package of documents, as well as coordination in several instances in Latvia and Ukraine. This process may take several months. Therefore, despite the comments in individual media and on Internet resources, it is impossible to talk about the deal as a fait accompli.

Until the transaction is agreed upon and approved, no binding decisions and agreements related to it are possible, - said Sergey Tuvalkin, President of PJSC Norvik Bank. - Therefore, any actions discussed now with assets are only options and projects. In the course of the workflow, they can be adjusted, refined or completely changed. All the details of real agreements, when they are reached, the parties participating in them will be published in official press releases.

Sergey Tuvalkin. Photo: from the archives of Vyatka Bank

Sergei Tuvalkin also stressed that the bank he heads is one of the most stable banks in Russia.

As of April 1 current year Vyatka Bank's capital adequacy is 13.15%, while the standard of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation is 8%, - Sergey Gennadievich commented. - According to the standard of current liquidity on the same date, "Vyatka Bank" has an indicator of 644% with a standard of 50%. This ratio reflects the bank's ability to fulfill its obligations to customers within one month. Instant liquidity as of April 1 amounted to 177% with the Central Bank's standard of 15%. This ratio reflects the bank's ability to fulfill its obligations within one day. The margin of safety of Vyatka Bank is confirmed by the results of the audit Central Bank Russian Federation held in 2016. Last year PJSC Norvik Bank (trademark Vyatka Bank) reaffirmed its status in the rating of 100 Best Goods of Russia, becoming a laureate All-Russian competition in the nomination "Banking products and services for corporate clients". Another major asset of the bank is a well-organized highly professional team with vast experience in the regional and federal markets and high level customer confidence. In connection with the foregoing, I would like to draw your attention to the fact that rumors about the closure of Vyatka Bank are greatly exaggerated.

The press service of Sberbank refrained from commenting, explaining that they are still premature. The branch for the Kirov region of the Volga-Vyatka main department of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation also did not comment on the situation, citing the fact that the regulator is not entitled to assess the transaction between the two commercial entities.

How Sberbank can dispose of the assets of Vyatka Bank

The opinions of the experts we interviewed differed both on the deal itself and on its possible consequences. Some believe that Vyatka Bank, which is a direct competitor of Sberbank, is not needed by the new owner. The main beneficiary of this sale is Norvik Bank owner Grigory Guselnikov, who has long sought to get rid of the Kirov assets and build a more global business. And politically, the situation for him - a close friend of the now arrested governor Nikita Belykh - is not developing very favorably now. Sberbank, on the other hand, had the task of leaving Ukraine with the least losses, and the exchange of Ukrainian banking assets at the Kirov became a chance not to be left empty-handed.

I do not know all the terms of the deal, but since it was carried out very quickly, it is unlikely that Sberbank now has a holistic understanding of what to do with these assets. Even if the stake in Vyatka Bank is transferred to Sberbank, then Vyatka Bank will operate as usual for quite a long time, and the new owners will look for acceptable options for how to manage the asset with the greatest efficiency, - believes financial expert Konstantin Kropanev. - The main value of the bank lies in the ability to generate profits through a high-quality loan portfolio, customer base and comfortable points of sale. Quickly evaluate loan portfolio"Vyatka Bank" is problematic. Sberbank does not particularly need additional banking offices either, it has 190 branches itself, so that only a small part of the 35 offices of Vyatka Bank may be of interest to new owners. In addition, now Sberbank itself is optimizing business processes and reducing the number of offices. In my opinion, the most likely option is that Vyatka Bank will be resold to another market participant, for example, a bank that does not yet have a representative office in Kirov and which is easier to buy a ready-made regional network than to invest in creating its own.

Mikhail Shevelev, economist, advisor on taxation and finance of the VTPP, agrees with Konstantin Kropanev. He believes that the political deal reached at the level of the management of the two banks is not beneficial to either Sberbank or Vyatka Bank at the regional level.

Mikhail Shevelev. Photo by Nikolai Pikhtin

In both cases, the place of decision-making is not the city of Kirov. Sberbank's nearest management is in Nizhny Novgorod, Vyatka Bank is a branch of a Latvian bank. I cannot now speak about the equivalence or unequal value of this exchange, because I do not know what kind of assets will be transferred. The Ukrainian network of Sberbank is quite high-quality, heavily capitalized and prepared both in terms of personnel and premises, and in terms of the entire technological system and computer security. On the other hand, Vyatka Bank, in my opinion, is also a fairly high-quality bank both in terms of providing services and in terms of customer focus. The fact that Vyatka Bank will come under the control of Sberbank is the most likely scenario. So Sberbank will have to do something with it. For him, this deal is unusual. 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 microcredit. For Sberbank, this is a difficult approach from the point of view of business management. And we should not be mistaken: the Kirov region is not so interesting in terms of the formation of its own banking segments within the region. In addition, with the existing network, including branches of Vyatka Bank in Sberbank is also an absurd thing. So, in my opinion, the unification of these branches under a single brand is inappropriate. This means that Sberbank will most likely resell this asset to someone, because it is simpler 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 profit. Therefore, under what brand Vyatka Bank will eventually operate is an open question today.

Other specialists financial sphere, on the contrary, they believe that Vyatka Bank for Sberbank can become very profitable acquisition.

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 deals are prepared for several months, because it is required to conduct 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 loans are overdue, then the value of its assets will immediately fall. I am sure that Sberbank understood what Vyatka Bank was like, and it certainly made sure that there were no “skeletons in the closet”. For Sberbank, reputation is very expensive. Yes, Vyatka Bank had difficulties last year, 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 has held many promotions to distribute credit cards and attracting small businesses, many customers came to serve them. Therefore, I believe that the acquisition of Vyatka Bank for Sberbank is a conscious purchase, and not a forced operation and not arm-twisting.

According to the source, for regional office Sberbank's new asset is, first of all, a good opportunity to get a new flow of customers without additional efforts, since the customer base of Vyatka Bank is valuable by 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 the regional management of Sberbank will be the analysis of all the best practices, and Vyatka Bank definitely has them, after that it will start rebranding and other measures aimed at strengthening the position of Sberbank in the region. As for new offices, most likely, their location and client flow will be analyzed, and then a decision will be made to close or not to close certain branches. At one time, Sberbank closed several fairly profitable points even in the city, so the offices of Vyatka Bank are an opportunity to restore service in those areas where Sberbank closed. There is reliable methods, which make it possible to determine how economically advantageous it is to place a bank branch in one place or another on the map, and I think that Sberbank's management will be provided with this work for the next three years. 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 not have announced at all that the deal had taken place, ”he is sure.

What should employees prepare for?

The most painful process of selling Vyatka Bank will be for its employees, experts are sure. In their opinion, first of all, layoffs await top managers.

It is clear that there cannot be two bosses on the same network, - says a source close to Sberbank. - I don't think that cashiers should prepare for something bad, especially since it's a long process. And the leaders will be analyzed, tested, and then the question of professionalism - who will remain to work.

But Konstantin Kropanev believes that the greatest risk now is just for ordinary employees, since with any further option, staff optimization can be expected. But it is still difficult to predict how large-scale these reductions will be.

Should customers be concerned?

Experts do not exclude that in the event of the transition of Vyatka Bank under the Sberbank brand or its sale to a third party, it may lose some of its customers.

The change of ownership increases the level of uncertainty, which is why some of the clients may play it safe and go to other banks, Mikhail Shevelev believes. - This is the underlying reason: no matter what the next move, as there is a change of management in banks, it can give rise to some destabilization and an outflow of customers. Although Vyatka Bank has repeatedly proved that the change of brands and owners only leads to the strengthening of its position.

Konstantin Kropanev. Photo: facebook.com

Konstantin Kropanev has a similar opinion:

If, nevertheless, Sberbank becomes the main shareholder of Vyatka Bank, then this is a significant plus for depositors. With clients, everything is more difficult, since in Vyatka Bank the client is specific. Whoever wanted to be served at Sberbank, he is already served there. And in "Vyatka Bank" they go for something else. Someone liked the service of this institution, according to some banking products conditions there are more favorable. So it’s not a fact that those who are now served by Vyatka Bank will want to go to Sberbank.

At the same time, all the experts we interviewed agreed that the current clients of Vyatka Bank have nothing to worry about. Firstly, the sale process itself is not fast, only the approval of the transaction by the Ukrainian Central Bank can take from six to nine months. Moreover, the deal can be artificially delayed in order to escalate the political situation. Secondly, according to sources, Sberbank 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 the sale of Vyatka Bank to another market participant, all obligations to borrowers, depositors, participants in payroll projects and other clients will be kept in the same volume and on the same terms.

The owner of "Vyatka Bank" Grigory Guselnikov is going to buy the Ukrainian "daughter" of Sberbank. According to media reports, as part of the deal, he intends to transfer his Russian assets to Sberbank, including a 98% stake in Vyatka Bank. Under whose brand will it work? Vyatka Bank”, what development scenarios await him and what his clients and employees now need to prepare for, Svoykirovsky figured out.
Author: Elena Zholobova In the public space, this story began on March 13 in the center of Kyiv, when Ukrainian radicals poured concrete over the entrance to the Sberbank of Russia branch and put forward an ultimatum: if the Ukrainian subsidiary of the Russian bank does not officially stop working by April, they themselves will “close » all branches of Sberbank in the country. Three days later, Kyiv imposed sanctions against 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 already 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 the Ukrainian assets of Sberbank 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 than not only the bank's own capital, but even the market value of one and a half hundred objects in which branches of the Ukrainian "daughter" of Sberbank worked.

Mikhail Shevelev. Photo by Nikolai Pikhtin
- In both cases, the place of decision-making is not the city of Kirov. Sberbank's nearest management is in Nizhny Novgorod, " Vyatka Bank"- a branch of a Latvian bank. I cannot now speak about the equivalence or unequal value of this exchange, because I do not know what kind of assets will be transferred. The Ukrainian network of Sberbank is quite high-quality, heavily capitalized and prepared both in terms of personnel and premises, and in terms of the entire technological system and computer security. On the other hand, " Vyatka Bank” - this, in my opinion, is also a fairly high-quality bank both 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. So Sberbank will have to do something with it. For him, this deal is unusual. 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 microcredit. For Sberbank, this is a difficult approach from the point of view of business management. And we should not be mistaken: the Kirov region is not so interesting in terms of the formation of its own banking segments within the region. In addition, with the existing network, include branches " Vyatka Bank»Sberbank is also an absurd thing. So, in my opinion, the unification of these branches under a single brand is inappropriate. This means that Sberbank will most likely resell this asset to someone, because it is simpler 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 profit. Therefore, under what brand will it eventually work? Vyatka Bank' is an open question for today. Other financial experts, on the contrary, believe 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. Some media say so, but in fact, such transactions are being prepared for several months, because it is required to carry out preliminary calculations, check all the statements, - 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 loans are overdue, then the value of its assets will immediately fall. I'm sure Sberbank understood what it was " Vyatka Bank”And he probably made sure that there were 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 serious problems. Plus over the past few years Vyatka Bank” held many promotions to distribute credit cards and attract small businesses, many customers came to serve them. Therefore, I believe that the acquisition of " Vyatka Bank» for Sberbank - a conscious purchase, not a forced operation and not arm-twisting.
According to the source, for the regional branch of Sberbank, a new asset is, first of all, a good opportunity to get a new flow of customers without additional efforts, since the customer base " Vyatka Bank” is valuable to 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 the regional management of Sberbank will be an analysis of all the best practices, and Vyatka Bank definitely has them, after that it will begin rebranding and other activities aimed at strengthening the position of Sberbank in the region. As for new offices, most likely, their location and client flow will be analyzed, and then a decision will be made to close or not to close certain branches. At one time, Sberbank closed several fairly profitable outlets even in the city, so 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 economically profitable it is to place a bank branch in one place or another on the map, and I think that Sberbank's management will be provided with this work for the next three years. 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 not have announced at all that the deal had taken place, ”he is sure.
What should employees prepare for?

The most painful process of selling " Vyatka Bank” will become for its employees, experts are sure. In their opinion, first of all, layoffs await top managers.

It is clear that there cannot be two bosses on the same network, - says a source close to Sberbank. - I don't think that cashiers should prepare for something bad, especially since it's a long process. And the leaders will be analyzed, tested, and then the question of professionalism - who will remain to work.
But Konstantin Kropanev believes that the greatest risk now is just for ordinary employees, since with any further option, staff optimization can be expected. But it is still difficult to predict how large-scale these reductions will be.

Should customers be concerned?

Experts do not exclude that in the event of a transition Vyatka Bank"under the Sberbank brand or its sale to a third party, he may lose some of his customers.

The change of ownership increases the level of uncertainty, which is why some of the clients may play it safe and go to other banks, Mikhail Shevelev believes. - This is the underlying reason: no matter what the next move, as there is a change of management in banks, it can give rise to some destabilization and an outflow of customers. Though " Vyatka Bank” has repeatedly proved that the change of brands and owners only leads to the strengthening of its position.
Konstantin Kropanev. Photo: facenook.com
Konstantin Kropanev has a similar opinion:

If, nevertheless, Sberbank becomes the main shareholder " Vyatka Bank”, then for investors this is a significant plus. With clients, everything is more difficult, since in Vyatka Bank, the client is specific. Whoever wanted to be served at Sberbank, he is already served there. And in " Vyatka Bank' go for something else. Someone liked the service of this institution; for some banking products, the conditions there are more favorable. 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 current customers “ Vyatka Bank» Nothing to worry about. Firstly, the sale process itself is not fast, only the approval of the transaction by the Ukrainian Central Bank can take from six to nine months. Moreover, the deal can be artificially delayed in order to escalate the political situation. Secondly, according to sources, Sberbank 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 in payroll projects and other clients will be kept in the same volume and on the same terms.