Vnesheconombank (VEB) is expecting to close a deal on the sale of Prominvestbank despite the complex situation regarding Russian banks in Ukraine, VEB head Sergei Gorkov told journalists on the sidelines of a board meeting of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs.
“I hope that it will not disrupt [the deal]. We are at the final stage,” Gorkov said.
The VEB head said that restrictions mainly relate to interbank transactions between Ukrainian subsidiaries and their Russian parent banks.
“We didn’t do this, this did not take place with us [interbank transactions]. This decision does not have a significant direct impact on us. Any deterioration will not have the best impact. This decision won’t affect the deal itself,” Gorkov said.
He said that part of Prominvestbank assets was problematic, but the bank itself “is well provisioned.”
“We believe that the bank in itself is quite good for the Ukrainian system,” the VEB head said.
VEB is currently in the process of selling leasing business in Ukraine, of which part of the assets have already been sold.
“The price [of the sale of part of the leasing assets] is good, we are selling these assets with a minimal discount. A part remains, we will continue to work on it,” Gorkov said, adding that the final stage will be the second deal on the sale of the retail leasing business, with agricultural and mining equipment currently remaining in the portfolio.
