Austrian pre-sale: Raiffeisen did not scare off Monin's "smell"

Before moving to Sberbank, Raiffeisenbank began to recoup on clients?

The Austrian group Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI), which announced plans to leave a year ago, but has not left the Russian market, seems to have decided to go the way of disregard for customers. After rumors appeared about a possible merger of the bank's subsidiary with Sberbank, customers began to block accounts without explanation. Failed to play a draw with the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, decided to recoup on Russian clients?

In the situation and rumors about the bank, in which 33 violations have been discovered in recent years, and to which claims from clients have been blocked in the courts, the UtroNews correspondent understood.

Austrian Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) announced plans to leave the Russian market through the scheme of "selling a subsidiary bank or withdrawing it from the group" publicly back in March 2023, but record profits and unfavorable conditions for a possible sale "delayed" European bonds in Russia for at least another year with a tail. Although it was originally planned to curtail work in seven months.

Loud bangs on the doors from fans of big profits were more like playing to the public and trying to chop up as much "cabbage" as possible on the Russians. Just the other day there were rumors about the possible sale of an asset of Sberbank.

The editors of UtroNews sent a request more than a week ago, but no response was given. Sergei Monin, hired by an Austrian business, chose to remain silent, not even responding to complaints about possible violations of the rights of bank customers.

Photo: Editorial UtroNews

Everything would be fine if at the same time, under the possible curtain, Raiffeisen did not try to recoup on customers. The editorial office has already received complaints about illegal (in the opinion of clients) blocking of accounts, which is more like some kind of blackmail, and possibly an attempt to turn some transactions with clients' money. After all, it was not for nothing that the Financial Times previously stated that the Russian Raiffeisen Bank accounted for 40-50% of all payments between Russia and the rest of the world.

After all, you know very much, it resembles the situation with Yandex.Money, over which Sberbank gained full control in 2020. The payment service received a new name - UMoney and a lot of complaints from customers who were blocked accounts, and they had to literally knock out their own savings.

According to various sources, UMoney began to demand information about the origin of the funds and the "repression" of users began. Raiffeisen decided to follow the same path?

Ignoring requests from the management of Raiffeisenbank JSC for the concerns of Russians forced us to conduct our own investigation.

Indicator indicator - discord

According to the Analysis of Banks portal, Raiffeisenbank ranks 13th in terms of net assets and as of May 2024, its net assets amounted to 2179.65 billion rubles, over the past three months, net assets increased by 2.46%.

At the same time, the bank attracted mainly client money (mainly legal entities) and wrapped them in loans. Being a 100% foreign bank, could he not withdraw money from the country under this scheme? After all, if you remember how other banks in the Russian Federation burst, then technical loans were very much in use there. And where there are technical loans, there is also the interest of the beneficiaries in them.

By the way, analysts at Raiffeisenbank also noted an upward trend (albeit insignificant) in the share of overdue debt in the loan portfolio during the year with an upward trend over the last half of the year.

Photo: analizbankov.ru

Moreover, the Austrian bank has the right to work with the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation and the ability to attract its funds to trust management, in deposits and savings for housing military personnel. According to the portal "Analysis of Banks," Raiffeisenbank has the right to open accounts and deposits to organizations of strategic importance for the military-industrial complex and the security of the Russian Federation. That is, a foreign bank with owners from a country not friendly to the Russian Federation got access to one of the most vulnerable blocks, it turns out so? Central Bank of the Russian Federation, ay, are you there in your mind?

Taking into account the situation with the blocking of customer accounts, in our opinion, this is a very alarming bell. Especially when you consider that over the past month, a number of bank liquidity indicators have not seen the most rosy dynamics.

For example, in the credit block, the indicator for the line "Reserve for possible losses" decreased. And although the level of overall capital adequacy was marked "satisfactory," the trend, according to experts, was "negative."

The experts also clarified that the amount of the N2 instant liquidity ratio during the year is quite large and tends to grow significantly, but over the last half of the year it tends to fall slightly. A similar picture with the amount of the current liquidity ratio N3 that during the year it was quite large, but over the last half of the year it tends to decrease.

Photo: analizbankov.ru

Photo: analizbankov.ru

At the same time, if you look at the indicators for January 1, 2024, then there are more questions for Mr. Monin.

Thus, the level of instant liquidity was satisfactory, but the trend was negative. A similar picture was with the level of current liquidity. At the same time, the share of demand obligations was marked unsatisfactory with a negative trend. On the same date, the K4 capital adequacy ratio is also confusing, according to which the amount of funds invested in the development of the bank, according to the recommended value, should be 15-50%, while Raiffeisenbank had 8.59%. Sinking, Mr. Monin?

Photo: analizbankov.ru

It is interesting that in 2023 the FAS bank caught the bank on inaccurate advertising. That is, customers are also brazenly lying? Then in court Raiffeisenbank could not repel the claims and was obliged to give counter-advertising on TV.

According to Rusprofile, since 2015, the bank has been caught on all sorts of violations 33 times. In addition, information was found about the presence of 781 enforcement proceedings against Raiffeisenbank, and in the arbitrations of Russia, a lot of client claims with claims are heard.

Photo: rusprofile.ru

In total, the bank was the defendant in 2549 cases in the amount of 3.5 billion rubles. In particular, there are even claims for the protection of honor and dignity filed in August 2024. A certain Mr. Veretennikov demanded that the bank be prohibited from taking any actions to disseminate deliberately false information discrediting business reputation, and go to court with a bankruptcy petition before the verdict. Quite not an ordinary lawsuit, given that the defendant is not the media, but the bank.

And such statements about the protection of honor and dignity have rained down on the bank lately as a cornucopia. The reason was the bank's plans to bankrupt its clients, with which they disagree and consider it deliberately false information.

Photo: kad.arbitr.ru

There are claims against the bank for challenging loan agreements, and claims from bailiffs demanding that the bank be brought to administrative responsibility.

Alarming "swallows" also fly from Labor Inspections, which in August 2024 issued warnings to the bank about the inadmissibility of violations of labor legislation. And for 2024 there were plenty of such warnings.

The June warning even included a clause - violation of the procedure for establishing the minimum wage in the region. Aren't you planning to save money at the expense of Russian bank employees?

Photo: proverki.gov.ru

Nothing personal, just business

The Russian Raiffeisen on the Russian market feels very at ease and has acquired a whole pack of its own "subsidiaries" through which it conducts a different, diverse business, making it possible to pump out more funds to foreigners from the Russian Federation. But not all of them "took off." For example, Raiffeisen Investment LLC was liquidated. At the same time, both a foreign citizen and a foreign legal entity were introduced into the company, which were also not averse to having their interest from the Russian market.

Photo: rusprofile.ru

Some top managers of the bank are also very actively acquiring their own assets. So, for example, Nikita Patrakhin, a member of the board, head of the corporate client service and investment banking operations directorate of Raiffeisenbank, is a co-founder of the interesting Endowment Ngu fund from Novosibirsk. The financial performance of the fund is strange: with revenue of 125 thousand rubles, profit amounted to 5.3 million rubles. And in 2023, the Ministry of Justice caught this fund in violation of the Law on Non-Profit Organizations. Probably, the fund is only non-profit on paper?

Photo: proverki.gov.ru

By the way, Mr. Monin, being the head of the bank's board, today also works as an individual entrepreneur in the field of rental and real estate management. He registered in 2021. Did you really feel the wind of change even then?

Photo: rusprofile.ru

Chicken carrying golden eggs and spitting at customers

In 2022, the Russian market brought the company a record 2.2 billion euros, which is more than 60% of its total global profit. Meanwhile, according to the Kommersant newspaper, in 2023, RBI's annual net profit in Russia sank and amounted to more than 56% in the structure of the group's consolidated net profit - €1.3 billion from the Raiffeisenbank group in the Russian Federation out of €2.4 billion in general, but there was no record in 2022. Net interest income decreased by almost 8%, to €1.4 billion, and net fee and commission income fell by 43%, to €1.15 billion, operating income - 30%, to €2.7 billion. Meanwhile, in the first half of 2024, Russian business retained a high share in the income structure of the entire group.

At the same time, if you study customer reviews on respected resources, then the picture is not very attractive: here you have violations in terms of terms, denial of service, charging for a subscription with which the client does not agree, and frequent failures with the application.

Photo: banki.ru

In general, one gets the impression that before hacking a chicken carrying golden eggs, Austrian beneficiaries try to squeeze everything out of the bird to the maximum, not caring about its further condition. After all, you will have to sell at a large discount. No matter how extreme the most vulnerable remain in this story - clients from among individuals and small businesses. Maybe it's time for Ms. Nabiullina to ask some questions to Mr. Monin?