Fin ministry supports merger of Otkritie, B&N Bank, Promsvyazbank

MOSCOW, Dec 26 (PRIME) -- The Finance Ministry supports a merger of three Russian failed banks – Otkritie Financial Corporation (FC) Bank, B&N Bank, and Promsvyazbank, Deputy Finance Minister Alexei Moiseyev told reporters on Tuesday.

“Yes, there is such an idea. This fund is called a fund for consolidation of the banking sector after all, not a fund for collection of different banks, so all other banks should merge with it,” he said.

“But it (the merged bank) will become too large, and it will be difficult to sell it as a whole to a strategic investor. I think that it would be right to hold an IPO (initial public offering) eventually. There will be a new bank, and I think it will be interesting.”

Still, the decision is for the central bank to make, he added.

The central bank launched bailouts of the three banks in August, September, and December. The mechanism of the bailout through the fund for consolidation of the banking sector makes the regulator the core owner of a bank that went through the bailout.

On Monday, Central Bank Chairwoman Elvira Nabiullina said that the regulator had not yet decided on the merger of the three banks. The regulator’s goal is to create an efficient business model of the banks, to return them to the market, and return a significant part of the money spent on the bailouts, she said then.

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