Returned from Washington. There, practically with an account report to the Atlantic Council was the outgoing head of the National Bank Valery Gontarev ... In the lobbies, they were actively discussing the sale of Sberbank.

She really looks very strange. At the end of last year, I actively worked on the possibility of attracting a real investor to buy one of the Russian banks operating in Ukraine. Naturally, one of the main objects of attention was Sberbank (although there were variants - VTB and VEB, but Sberbank looked much more interesting in terms of the portfolio of projects, there in the past years stealing much less, and the problems were more a reflection of the general economic crisis than incompetence of the Ukrainian bank leaders).

I must say that this bank could be a very attractive asset. Russian Sberbank has pumped into Ukraine more than a billion investments; And withdraw this money was impossible - they worked for the Ukrainian economy. The total volume of issued loans is about 4 billion. Doll. , Serviced more than 1 billion. (Gref stated that 2 billion, but according to my information, he overestimated the figure). From a legal point of view, it was one of the best banks in Ukraine, which had to be sold from the Russian state to a normal investor who can manage it and continue to lend to the Ukrainian industry.

I must say that there were a number of such investors. Not that there was a line, but close to that. One of the main problems was the very strict rules of the National Bank to prove the origin of the investor's funds. That is, the source of Sberbank's funds - the Russian budget - in the warring country proved to be an acceptable investor, and, for example, people standing in consecutive opposition to Putin, and ready to help Ukraine withstand money - they were not. Well, in the end, the rules of the National Bank were narrowed to us by the circle of applicants, but not all.

Sberbank wanted for the asset at least 600 million, which was already much lower than the investment made. Only the bank's own capital was 144. But given the political situation, it was really difficult to sell for such money. However, for 200 investors brought by me were ready to take the asset in the literal sense of the word tomorrow, and pay with live money. But the Moscow curators of the deal (vice-president of Sberbank Maxim Degtyarev, incidentally, with the Chekist background - the acting FSB colonel seconded to the bank, which can hardly be considered a coincidence, and his colleague Yuri Svistunov) they did not want to - according to the official version, it was considered cheap.

As a result, the topic was paused, and in March the events began to develop rapidly. First, protests began in Kiev, aimed "for some reason" specifically at the Savings Bank, although than, for example, VTB worse? And about other Russian companies that are engaged in commercial activities in Ukraine, withdrawing money from the country and paying taxes in Russia, unlike the Ukrainian Sberbank, GC "Azov" somehow "forgot".

And then we saw a deal in which the bank was valued at $ 130 million, lower than capital, and even lower than the simple cost of the premises where the bank's branches are located, and most of this amount was paid not in money but in kind of dubious quality. The deal here is purely Russian people Gutseriev and Guselnikov (the latter we know not only on "What? Where? When?", But also on the affairs of Navalny and Belykh in Kirov).

And immediately on the market began selling off some of the projects of the Savings Bank, that is, the business is simply being destroyed (which means that the opportunities for lending to the Ukrainian industry are further reduced, which in itself would be qualified as a sabotage in the course of a hybrid war against the country).

This configuration is promptly adopted by both Sberbank in Moscow and the National Bank in Kiev. And no conspiracy that you! Just Business. Why do real investors? Why banks for Ukraine? Why loans for the Ukrainian industry? You can earn here now, and the state interests - somehow later. For someone - the war, and for someone - the mother is native ... Editorial site is not responsible for the content of blogs. The editorial opinion may differ from the author's.

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