Report: Russia’s VEB can postpone sale of Sviaz-Bank, Globexbank

MOSCOW, Apr 21 (PRIME) -- Russia’s Vnesheconombank (VEB) is ready to postpone the sale of affiliates Sviaz-Bank and Globexbank, First Deputy CEO Nikolai Tsekhomsky told Bloomberg in an interview published Friday.

He also said that VEB still plans to convert its 212 billion ruble debt to the central bank into a perpetual subordinated borrowing which will become a part of the capital of VEB.

Tsekhomsky said in December 2016 that VEB will convert the debt into a subordinated borrowing after selling the affiliates.

VEB had to bail out Sviaz-Bank and Globexbank during the 2008 crisis and received over 200 billion rubles from the central bank at that time. In early 2015, the government said the assets were non-core for VEB, and VEB initially planned to sell the banks to the Deposit Insurance Agency (DIA), but later dropped the plan. VEB’s strategy encompasses selling the two banks and Prominvestbank in 2017–2018.

(56.4165 rubles – U.S. $1)

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