Пресс-центр

Источник: The Financial Times Limited
Дата: 11.09.2007

By Catherine Belton in Moscow
Russian Standard Bank, Russia’s top consumer lender, has enough reserves to withstand a global credit crunch, Roustam Tariko, the bank’s founder and chairman, said.
The Russian consumer credit magnate, who also produces premium vodka under the Russian Standard brand, told the Financial Times the bank could trim sales of some of its products as it sought to weather a tightening of global credit markets.

“This could lead to a less aggressive policy in the sale of our products,” Mr Tariko said. “Consumers still very much need money. The more money you earn, the more you start to move into a so-called spending mode.”

Russian Standard Bank pioneered a surge in consumer lending in Russia, and still holds 70 per cent of the credit card market and 40 per cent of consumer loans. It has borrowed heavily on international markets to fund its rapid growth.

Last month, Russian prosecutors ordered the bank to stop charging customers double-digit commissions on unsecured loans.
Mr Tariko said the bank was implementing a plan to phase out the commissions from the beginning of this year, a move he called the “end of wild capitalism” on Russia’s consumer credit market. Even though the bank has warned investors this year’s profits could be cut by up to $250m because of the ban on commissions, Mr Tariko insisted any such losses would be temporary as the bank would end up selling more products as it retained customers.

“Because we know our risk we will be able to maintain our competitive advantage and sell products at affordable prices,” he said.
Mr Tariko said the ban on commissions would lead to “the entire market [becoming] more civilised and regulated”.