PRESS: Russian cbank gives unsecured loan to Otkritie FC Bank

MOSCOW, Aug 21 (PRIME) -- The Russian central bank has provided an unsecured loan to Otkritie Financial Corporation (FC) Bank, business daily Vedomosti reported on Monday, citing two people who knew about this from the bank.

Unsecured loans emerged in 2008 as a measure of central bank’s support to banks during the financial crisis. The transactions stopped later because the cost of such borrowing was the highest one. As of the end of 2010, the unreturned debt amounted to 46 billion rubles, of which 33 billion rubles accounted for International Industrial Bank.

Spokespeople for the central bank and Otkritie FC Bank declined to comment on the size and terms of the loan. An executive of a top-10 bank said: “The regulator has probably taken into account the seriousness of the situation with Otkritie, which is why it has given the loan. As a rule, banks borrow from the central bank against their assets.”

Clients withdrew 106 billion rubles from Otkritie FC Bank in June and 323 billion rubles in July. The outflow continued in August. “Everyone on the market were talking only about this,” a top-30 bank executive said.

On August 18, the Federal Antimonopoly Service cleared Otkritie Inform, wholly owned by Otkritie Holding, to acquire a 100% stake in insurance company Rosgosstrakh. The company is generating losses, which also made investors worry. Last week, rating agency S&P kept the bank on the list for downward revision.

(59.3612 rubles – U.S. $1)

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