The SMS-message reads: "Dear borrower, you are bankrupt."
Photo: Nikolay Cyiganov
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Bank Crisis Went to Law
The financial collapse in Russia has resulted in the record growth in the number of bank suits. The Moscow Arbitration Court received yesterday nine suits from two biggest banks of the country – Uralsib and Alfa Bank. The banks seek to recover $55.62 million from clients. The lawyers attribute the attempt to get back the amount of this size to liquidity crisis, but the banks deny it, saying it is just an ordinary situation.
Uralsib Bank lodged to the Moscow Arbitration Court yesterday three suits against borrowers for the total worth of $44.64 million. On the same day, Alfa Bank filed six suits worth $10.97 million. What’s more, Stroycredit presented the suit for $1 million. The common practice is that the court daily receives no more than two or three suits from medium or small banks for the worth of $1 million to $2 million.
“Usually, the biggest banks file suits for debt recovery very rarely. They thoroughly analyze the state of the debtor when granting the loan and attempt to settle potential problems without going to law,” said Jan Dasgupta, who is the partner at Gridnev & Partners. According to Dasgupta, going to law is the extreme measure, which the banks are unwilling to apply, as they set a high value on their reputation. “It’s because of liquidity crisis,” the lawyer supposed.
According to April 1 data of Kommersant Dengi weekly, Alfa Bank ranked the sixth in the net asset total (502.2 billion ruble) and was the fourth in size of the granted loans (414.8 billion ruble), while Uralsib held the 11th position both in terms of the net assets (353.5 billion ruble) and in granted loans (224.1 billion ruble).
Of interest is that five of six suits filed by Alfa Bank for the total worth of $9.32 million were presented to the firms of AirUnion Alliance, which difficulties with debt settlement are well-known. Amid the defendants are AirUnion itself, Domodedovo Airlines, Krasnoyarsk Airlines (both airlines undergo bankruptcy procedures).
Representatives of the banks denied yesterday the links between their suits and financial crisis. “Lodging suits are the scheduled actions in respect of our debtors; it has nothing to do with the market events,” people in the news service of Uralsib said.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Sep. 18, 2008
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