Retail business

Annual report 2011

# Retail business

Last year was a favorable one for retail banking in Russia. As purchasing power rose, activity on consumer credit programs intensified contributing to a recovery in demand for mortgages, bank cards and related services. Depositor confidence in the Russian banking system was fully restored, so the Central Bank began to monitor more closely offers on interest rates that are substantially higher than the refinancing rate.

In 2011, the main drivers of the Bank’s retail banking business were loans to individuals, term deposits, and other fee-based services.

The Bank’s main objectives in the retail segment in 2011 were:

- attracting deposits, with a focus on the medium and long terms
- rapidly expanding the loan portfolio
- improving the quality of the loan portfolio by reducing arrears and NPLs
- continuing active cross-selling
- securitization of the Bank’s mortgage portfolio

## Deposits

Bank Vozrozhdenie’s retail deposit portfolio stood at RUB 72.1 billion at the end of 2011. This moderate growth was generally in line with market trends during the reporting period. As such, the Bank was the 12th largest Russian bank in terms of retail deposits.

#### Individual deposits, RUB billion

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#### Breakdown of retail portfolio, 2011

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In the first half of 2011, Bank Vozrozhdenie did not adjust the interest rates on its term deposits; only in the fourth quarter were they increased on ruble instruments. Over the year, the maximum interest rate on the Bank’s deposits rose by 1 percentage point to 9% annually. The effective maximum rate for foreign-currency deposits fell by 0.29 percentage points to 5.1% annually.

At the year-end, about 291,000 customers had retail deposits with the Bank.

In 2011, the Bank managed to expand its long-term deposit base. The share of deposits for 18 months or more in the retail deposit portfolio was 67.8%, compared with 62.7% in 2010. The most popular long-term deposits are seasonal ones with added benefits: the ability to make credit and debit transactions and have interest added monthly.

A priority for 2012 is to boost the deposit base more rapidly, primarily by providing high-quality, convenient banking services. There are plans to increase the existing customer loyalty by offering special terms for deposits in highpriority categories: people that use Bank Vozrozhdenie payroll programs, pensioners, and state employees.

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## Lending

In 2011, the total retail loan portfolio climbed by RUB 7.7 billion, an increase of around 46.7%. Late in the year, the Bank concluded a RUB 4 billion deal to securitize the mortgage portfolio.

The growth came mainly from greater demand for home loans, which accounted for around 63% of all retail loans granted in 2011. When disbursing credit, the Bank focused on customers with proven and stable incomes, mainly those involved in its corporate payroll programs, government personnel, employees of large enterprises that meet the Bank’s requirements, depositors, and people who already have a positive credit history.

One priority in 2011 was to maintain high quality. The share of NPLs in the total retail loan portfolio stood at 2.59% at the year-end, down from 5.36% at the end of 2010.

### Mortgages

Last year, the rise in the Bank’s retail loan portfolio was primarily driven by a surge in mortgage lending. In 2011, the mortgage portfolio soared from RUB 9.9 billion to RUB 15.4 billion (including securitization), up 56.9%.

#### Retail loan portfolio

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#### Quality of the retail loan portfolio

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To boost mortgage lending last year, Bank Vozrozhdenie revised various conditions in favor of clients: it canceled the fees for arranging and maintaining loans, launched a collective insurance scheme and approved new partnership programs.

In 2011, the Bank actively developed partnership programs with realtors, developers and corporate clients, and it concluded several agreements with new partners. These ensured that loan issuance volumes remained high throughout the year.

Despite the difficulties with liquidity in the banking system, in December 2011, the Bank successfully and promptly completed a transaction to securitize its mortgages. RUB 2.931 billion in Class A bonds were placed via public subscription on MICEX and RUB 1.14 billion in Class B bonds were bought by the Bank. International ratings agency Moody’s has assigned the Class A bonds a rating of ‘Baa2’. The price per bond was RUB 1,000, which is 100% of the par value. The instruments are to be redeemed in full on 10 August 2044.

The securitization of mortgages allowed the Bank to attract long-term financing for funding active transactions, as well as increase long-term liquidity.

### Consumer lending

In 2011, the Bank gradually improved its terms for consumer and car loans. It increased the maximum amount available for individual products and term and reviewed the option of securing loans with land, a parking space, or claims on such property.

As a result, last year, the Bank’s consumer lending portfolio expanded from RUB 4.3 billion to RUB 6.3 billion, while the loans granted totaled RUB 5.8 billion.

By the end of 2012, the Bank intends to expand its portfolio of consumer loans to RUB 9.2 billion.

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## Payments and transfers

One of the Bank’s priorities in the retail business is boosting fee income. Products that generate fees provide a stable revenue base. In 2011, the Bank conducted over 16.7 million retail payments and transfers, while revenues from settlement operations increased by 11%. Bank Vozrozhdenie intends to maintain the growth momentum in 2012.

The main drivers of the fee-based business are enhancing the size and quality of the partner pool, streamlining banking technology and improving customer service. Today, the Bank processes payments from the public for more than 5,300 organizations, more than 1,000 of which work with Bank Vozrozhdenie under direct contracts. Among them are core recipients such as Mosenergosbyt, Mosoblgaz, Rostelecom, the ‘Big Three’ mobile operators, regional providers of communal services, and subdivisions of state institutions.

The Bank’s settlement services are currently available in 160 sales offices and via self-service equipment, including 785 ATMs. In 2011, the Bank installed 40 payment terminals on its own premises and those of partner organizations. This increased the speed of customer service in branches and enhanced overall service quality by transferring less important mass transactions to self-service equipment. Last year, about 300 million payments totaling RUB 260 million were made to 440 different organizations.

The Bank intends to develop its payments and transfers business rapidly by expanding its terminal network and service range. In 2012, it also plans to launch joint projects with major payment and money transfer systems.

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## Cross-selling and customer service

As interbank competition intensified, the Bank stepped up its cross-selling campaign in 2011. The main drivers of cross-selling were customized programs for corporate clients and partnership programs with the largest developers and realtors, while the number of partners also rose.

The Bank used text messages and phone calls to work with retail customers, informing employees of corporate programs about preferential terms for loans, as well as notifying about the end of term deposits, changes in office opening hours, the installation of new ATMs, etc. Starting in 2011, customers could apply online to obtain preliminary calculations for loans and deposits. As a result, loans worth RUB 538 million were disbursed.

Cross-selling was also conducted for people involved in the Bank’s payroll programs and employees of large organizations that meet its requirements. By the year-end, the volume of deposits held by participants in payroll programs had climbed by 2.7%, while the number of loans and their volume were up 38.4% and 24.5% respectively.

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## Development priorities

In 2012, the Bank intends to maintain retail business growth. In terms of lending, the priorities will be rapidly expanding the loan portfolio and preserving its quality. There are plans to increase the mortgage portfolio further and consumer loans by 33%. The Bank intends to market loans mainly to reliable clients, including participants in payroll programs, clients with solid credit histories, and employees of government organizations and large companies.

Key drivers of the retail business will be increasing the number of partners on mortgage programs, boosting cross-selling and expanding the network of self-service equipment. The latter includes those on the premises of partner organizations, where customers will be able to pay for services on delivery.

In 2012, an important source of growth will be cross-selling. The Bank intends to maintain active contacts with existing, former and potential clients. A priority will be increasing the number of depositors and the volume of funds. To accomplish this, the Bank plans to introduce bundled services for holders of large deposits and premium services for VIP clients.

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© 2012 Bank «Vozrozhdenie»