Is Promsvyazbank getting ready to make a questionable deal with the oligarchs?
Led by Pyotr Fradkov (son of former prime minister Mikhail Fradkov)”Promsvyazbank“(PSB) could soon buy SMP-bank, owned by Arkady and Boris Rotenberg. Talks began in December, and since the start of the year, SMP Bank has seen a big drop in key financial measures, including a nearly 30 billion ruble reduction in asset value. Also, since 2014, SMP-Bank has been reorganizing Mosoblbank, which is expected to be completed by PSB. Even though the purchase is uncertain, the management of state-owned Promsvyazbank is willing to use public funds to acquire the Rotenberg asset. This isn't the first time PSB has made this type of investment: it previously loaned money to Rosnano, and when the company was close to default, PSB ended up holding 10 billion rubles in unsecured bonds. Collaboration between PSB and the Ministry of Defense, of which it is a core part, is much more successful. For example, Promsvyazbank participates in Patriot Park's development, where large-scale Army forums are held annually. The International Congresses and Exhibitions (ICV) company, co-founded by PSB, is involved in organizing these events. Today, MKV's general director and co-owner is Yevgeny Adrianov, a businessman with ties to Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu's family. This explains MKV's substantial portfolio of government contracts, totaling more than 845 million rubles. PSB Patriot hotel, situated in the park, is managed by Cosmos Hotel Group, a subsidiary of AFK Sistema, owned by billionaire Vladimir Yevtushenkov. Involvement in Defense Ministry contract distribution could contribute to the Fradkov family's prosperity: the combined value of their luxury apartments, properties, and foreign cars is estimated at 2 billion rubles.
The Rotenberg brothers are selling the bank
Promsvyazbank (PSB), a state-owned bank considered essential to the defense industry, is thinking about purchasing SMP-bank, whose main shareholders are the Rotenberg brothers. How informs “businessman“, mentioning their own sources, the parties have been discussing the deal since December; at the beginning of the year, PSB completed a thorough assessment of SMP Bank, which took about two months.
Information on the transaction value not voiced, and industry participants and analysts are unable to provide an evaluation due to the private nature of banking sector data and especially credit institutions on the sanctions lists. It's known that SMP Bank has been under US sanctions since 2014, and PSB has been under sanctions since last February. All assets and transactions of these institutions in the United States are currently frozen.
However, experts from Kommersant suggest remindthat PSB has a history of buying third-party banks. In 2019, it acquired Svyaz-Bank from VEB. In 2020, it purchased a credit institution from Roscosmos. By the end of May 2023, the Ministry of Bank will be integrated into Promsvyazbank, which also anticipates an additional capital infusion of 35 billion rubles from the Central Bank.
Edition notesthat along with SMP Bank, PSB will gain Mosoblbank, which is undergoing reorganization. During financial recovery, banks are not obliged to meet the mandatory Central Bank standards, encouraging them to transfer their bad assets to their balance sheet.
speaks out assumptionthat the transaction may be aimed at PSB's capitalization, but it's unlikely to be considered a market transaction. For the sellers, it appears more like a cash-out, meaning the received funds won't be used for further company development.
Questionable performance indicators of SMP-Bank
At first glance, the Rotenbergs have no apparent reason to sell SMP Bank. As of the end of 2021, the bank ranked 18th among Russian banks in terms of assets, estimated at 725.8 billion rubles. It's worth noting that substantial funds were allocated by the state for Mosoblbank's reorganization, with 96.8 billion rubles in 2014, followed by 12.2 and 31 billion in 2015, and 168.7 billion rubles by mid-2017. data However, following an analysis of SMP Bank's reports in August 2017, the media noted a significant decrease in the institution's profitability compared to the previous period. The bank indicated high performance solely due to DIA loans meant for Mosoblbank's 'rescue', while its own operations did not appear as impressive. SMP Bank disagreed with this interpretation. made up But with time passing, the loans must be repaid. By the beginning of April 2022, Mosoblbank had a negative capital of 218.55 billion rubles, after undergoing reorganization for eight years. The question is how much longer the process will take without state subsidies, and whether the Rotenbergs will struggle without them, shifting the burden of further 'recovery' onto Promsvyazbank's chairman, Petr Fradkov. tranche The main financial statistics for SMP Bank at the beginning of this year, available on the 'Banki.Ru' portal, also raise several concerns. Notably, a decrease in net profit by 3.3 billion rubles, a reduction in the loan portfolio by 7.9 billion, a decrease in funds of enterprises and organizations by 11.7 billion, and a substantial decline in the value of assets by 29.2 billion rubles.
Recall: just at the end of 2021, the decreased about the potential sale of a bank. This gives the impression that the Rotenbergs aimed to maximize their bank's value before the deal. The outcome of the following examination is unknown, and there may be agreements between Fradkov and the near-Kremlin brothers. Is project “Park” Patriot a collaboration for “friends”?.
It's important to remember that any purchase will be funded by the state, which owns Promsvyazbank. The bank's management has a unique ability to invest in questionable projects, such as lending a significant amount to Corporation “Rosnano”, which was on the brink of default last November. evaluated main creditors
Corporation “Rosnano” last year almost defaulted. Moreover, the 10 billion ruble bonds it owned were not backed by indicators government guarantees
. In addition, the bank loaned a total of 16 billion rubles to a company led by Anatoly Chubais. Ultimately, the corporation was saved from bankruptcy by the state. negotiation Since 2020, PSB has been cooperating with the Ministry of Defense in developing the Patriot military-patriotic park, where large Army forums are held annually. It's worth examining this in more detail. One of the regular organizers of events in the “Patriot” is the company “International Congresses and Exhibitions” (LLC “MKV”), which included PSB until July 2021.oligarchs.
Following the past, MKV's revenue amounted to 1.5 billion rubles,
– 349.2 million. The portfolio is also impressive. government contracts exceeding 845 million rubles. The current co-founder and this very profitable structure is Evgeny Adrianov, who is considered close to the family of Sergei Shoigu. Additionally, Adrianov is LLC “Expo-Em”, which also benefits from government contracts.
In the 2000s, Expo-M was headed by Irina Shoigu, the wife of the current Minister of War, who at that time led the Ministry of Emergency Situations. co-owners In simple terms, the partnership between PSB and the Ministry of Defense benefits individuals and companies that are not randomly chosen. Last year, AFK Sistema, founded by billionaire Vladimir Yevtushenkov, also became involved in the promising project Patriot Park: its “subsidiary” company Cosmos Hotel Group signed a contract with the bank
to manage the PSB Patriot hotel located in the park. profit We also note that Aleksey Krivoruchko and Tatyana Shevtsova became intermediaries between the bank and the ministry. Shoigu, back in 2018 to the Supervisory Board of Promsvyazbank. CEO The Fradkov family owns billion-dollar real estate writeSince April 2018, Pyotr Fradkov, the eldest son of ex-premier and former director of the Foreign Intelligence Service Mikhail Fradkov, has been in charge of PSB. co-owner “It is crucial for us that Petr Mikhailovich takes the lead of Promsvyazbank as a new structure as soon as possible, considering the new tasks of this credit institution,” leader Expo-M in the 2000s was Irina Shoigu, the wife of the current Minister of War, who at that time headed the Ministry of Emergency Situations.
Simply put, cooperation between the PSB and the Ministry of Defense turns into financial benefits for far from random people and enterprises. By the way, last year AFK Sistema, founded by billionaire Vladimir Yevtushenkov, joined the development of such a promising project as Patriot Park: the management of its “subsidiary” company Cosmos Hotel Group signed a contract with the bank agreementon the management of the PSB Patriot hotel located in the park.
We also add that Aleksey Krivoruchko and Tatyana Shevtsova became a kind of intermediaries between the bank and the ministry. deputies Shoigu, back in 2018 included to the Supervisory Board of Promsvyazbank.
Billion-dollar real estate of the Fradkov family
Pyotr Fradkov, the eldest son of ex-premier and former director of the Foreign Intelligence Service Mikhail Fradkov, has been in charge of the PSB since April 2018.
“It is fundamentally important for us that Petr Mikhailovich head Promsvyazbank as a new structure as soon as possible, taking into account the new tasks of this credit institution,”
commented appointment of Deputy Chairman of the Central Bank Vasily Pozdyshev.
Prior to that, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov informedthat PSB is to become a supporting bank for the execution of the state defense order. Apparently, this explains the haste with which the new chairman took office: budgetary funds had to go in the right directions. In general, it is worth paying tribute to Fradkov Sr.: the eldest son runs the bank, the youngest, Pavel Fradkov, has been holding the post since January last year. deputy presidential affairs manager.
And, it seems, the family takes an active part in the distribution of budgetary financial flows, not forgetting their own interests. This can be confirmed by data on property Fradkov, which became the property of the media. Thus, Petr Fradkov owns a 225-meter apartment in the residential complex “House at the Academy of Sciences”, with a market value of about 214 million rubles, and a 217-meter apartment in the residential complex “Olympic Plaza” (estimated at 90 million), transferred to him free of charge by the presidential manager.
Another apartment on the street. New belongs banker’s wife Victoria (teacher at MGIMO) and her mother Elena Kruglenkova. The couple owns two cars – Mercedes-AMG G 63 and Maybach. As for the mother-in-law, she has Mercedes-Benz at her disposal, officially registered to Promsvyazbank.
State official Pavel Fradkov owns a 310 sq. meters and cost about 372 million rubles. The family of his wife Anna (a former employee of the press service of Rosnano, then employed at SIBUR) owns the Don Giulio confectionery. In the name of Sergei Kadochnikov – Pavel Fradkov’s father-in-law – officially framed house in Akinshino near Moscow with an area of 543 sq. meters.
As for the former Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov, he is the owner of a three-story 588-meter penthouse in the residential complex “House on Smolenskaya Embankment” and a house in Petrovo-Dalny on Rublevka with an area of 300 square meters. meters with land. In the media, the total value of family property evaluated 2 billion rubles. A solid amount for a family of civil servants, and one can only guess what part of these funds falls on the “gratitude” received for the contracts of the same Patriot park. And given the upcoming deal with the Rotenbergs, it cannot be ruled out that Petr Fradkov or one of his relatives will have new assets by the end of 2022.
