On 9 May, in the City of London, President and Chairman of the Board of Center-Invest Bank, Dr. Vasily Vysokov, and head of the bank’s London representative office, Olga Vysokova, presented the strategy for 2011-2015 “The Post-Crisis Development of Southern Russia” to our partners and investors.
Center-Invest Bank will grow at a faster pace than that predicted for the banking sector as a whole in the development strategy approved by the Russian government and the Bank of Russia: by 2015, the bank’s capital will have grown by 65.5%, its assets by 45.3%, and its loan portfolio by 82.7%.
While the Russian government is only now setting the country’s banks the task of improving quality and increasing long-term efficiency through a process of adaptation to international standards, Center-Invest Bank has been successfully integrating sustainable banking principles into its operations for several years already.
As opposed to speculative banking, under the sustainable banking model business processes are geared towards long-term gains rather than instantaneous profit. Moreover, Center-Invest Bank applies best practice in international reporting standards, corporate governance, risk management, internal control, information technology, and customer and investor relations. Applying this sustainable approach, we have retained our leading positions in the regional (southern Russia) and the national banking sector, especially in the most promising segments: SME lending (ranking 6th among Russian banks), agribusiness, energy efficiency, and consumer lending.
Our own assessment has revealed that even if the new Basel III rules were to be introduced now, Center-Invest Bank would already meet the requirements, and that, factoring in buffer capital, we also have a substantial stability margin (including Tier 1 capital).
The Center-Invest Bank branch network (118 branches) allows us to provide SMEs in southern Russia with meaningful support as they modernize their production by acquiring world-class equipment and technology in order to produce goods and services that can compete on global markets. The bank is continuing to implement sustainable development projects in the sphere of education: we provide financial support to the top students and the best young lecturers in southern Russia, and we are promoting the study of basic entrepreneurial skills in schools and vocational colleges. In 2010, we spent RUR7.5m on these projects.
As predicted in the bank’s 2011-2015 Strategy, southern Russia has adapted more quickly to the new economic conditions than other Russian regions, and its growth rates in 2010 and Q1 2011 were above the Russian average. The sustainable development of southern Russia is reflected in Center-Invest’s results: our Q1 2011 profits were higher than our profits for the whole of last year.
Areas for future cooperation between Center-Invest Bank and international financial institutions on the basis of sustainable banking principles were identified during the discussion that followed the presentation of our strategy.
Center-Invest Bank President, Dr. Vasily Vysokov, also met with journalists from Bloomberg and the Financial Times who were very interested in the bank’s experience of implementing sustainable development principles.