Banks that were limited in their opportunities to borrow abroad at the height of the financial crisis are now making up for lost time.
Photo: Alexey Kudenko
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Banks Believe in Debt
VTB bank placed ˆ1 billion in securities on the Western market yesterday, and Sberbank, Gazprombank and Alfa Bank are lining up to do the same. Alfa Bank will place $250-300 million in securities, and Sberbank about $1 billion. Sberbank chairman and president German Gref stated yesterday that the bank intends to attract up to $5 billion on foreign markets this year.
Since the beginning of the year, VTB was the first to go out onto Western markets in May when it placed $2 billion in loan participation notes. The Ak Bars bank placed $300 million on June 10. This week, Home Credit and Finance bank placed $500 million, Transcreditbank placed $350 million and Tinkoff Credit Systems $100 million.
Banks are making up for lost time, observers say, after being prevented by the financial crisis from obtaining loans abroad, and they are hurrying, since financial conditions may deteriorate in the autumn. Another source of uncertainty is how the U.SD. Federal Reserve Board and European Central Bank will combat inflation. If the monetary authorities decide to raise key interest rates, the income on euro securities will increase.
The last placements have premiums on them. Home Credit and Finance paid more than 1.5 percent, whiles Alfa Bank and Sberbank will pay no more than 0.25 percent, and VTB paid 0.5 percent. Twenty-one issues of VTB (including VTB, VTB-24, VTB Severo-zapad and VTB Europe) are in circulation with a total value of $15.5 billion.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of June 19, 2008
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