PIB to become one of top-five largest Ukrainian banks

15:24

Kyiv-based Prominvestbank (PIB) plans to become one of the top-five largest Ukrainian banks, the board chairman of Russia’s Vnesheconombank (VEB), Vladimir Dmitriev, said at a briefing in Kyiv on Thursday.

"What soldier doesn't want to become a general? Of course, we want the bank to be among the top-five best banks... This is a shared task for shareholders," he said.

He said that the arrival of VEB on the Ukrainian financial market is aimed at promoting the development of trade and economic relations between Russia and Ukraine.

"The fact that Vnesheconombank became a shareholder in the bank… and a decision was made in favor of Vnesheconombank, is evidence of the serious interest of the leadership of our country in the dynamic development of trade, economic and investment relations between Russia and Ukraine, related with the stable work of the financial sector in the two countries," he said.

Dmitriev said that in Ukraine, VEB plans to realize a policy similar to that on the Russian market.

"VEB's mission is to overcome infrastructure restrictions on growth, to support key industrial sectors, small and medium business, the export potential of our country, and to support and develop integration processes and cooperation relations between the CIS states. We'll develop these directions of our activities in Ukraine while working at Prominvestbank," the banker said.

Dmitriev said that a program for the financial recovery of Prominvestbank drawn up by its shareholders and the provisionary administration of the bank has brought results: a moratorium on the fulfillment of commitments to depositors was lifted, and the bank is implementing all legal requirements and pays day to the day. He said that VEB has sent two tranches worth UAH 7 billion to Prominvestbank, which were foreseen in its financial aid.

Dmitriev said that VEB plans to give all-round support to Prominvestbank in the future.

"We understood when we entered PIB, seeing its present financial state and technological capacities, that we could give an additional advantages to the bank from the point of view of sales financing, settling problematic issues in relations with the clients of our bank with their business partners in Ukraine and other countries. We believe that despite the difficult situation, including on the loans market, we will be able to lend Vnesheconombank's shoulder to provide for the realization of all programs of PIB clients that were started earlier and need additional funding. This concerns production upgrades, maintenance of high labor productivity and achieving highly profitable production," he said.

As reported, in January 2009, Russia's VEB became the owner of a 75% stake in the Prominvestbank, and a subsidiary of Austria's Slav AG – Kyiv-based Signus Ltd. bought a 12.37% stake in the bank.

CJSC Prominvestbank was founded in 1992.

By January 1, 2009, the bank ranked eleventh among the 182 operating banks in terms of overall assets, estimated at UAH 27.489 billion, according to the National Bank of Ukraine.

06.03.2009