OREANDA-NEWS. June 24, 2011. Between year-start 2011 and April 1 the Saint Petersburg branch auto finance portfolio grew 14.5% to Rb 1 046.2 mn

In 2010 Uniastrum’s St. Petersburg office upsized its auto loan portfolio 7-fold, chalking up Rb 913.7 mn as of January 1, 2011. The surge in portfolio value was thanks first and foremost to the Bank’s launch of its Uni SPB program in summer 2010, enabling borrowers to access auto finance at competitive rates and receive, under Uniastrum’s U-Cross Auto scheme, a card with a credit limit equal to 10% of the vehicle purchase. The program is the only one of its kind operating on the Russian market.

By taking advantage of the Uni SPB option, Uniastrum customers can treat themselves to a new or secondhand car, provided that it is under 9 years old by the end of the loan period. Interest rates run from 9.9% to 11.9% APR, depending on the size of the down payment*, while the loans themselves range from Rb 50,000 to Rb 4 mn, repayable over 5 years. Minimum down payment is 25% of the automobile price. Also, installment plans are flexible, with borrowers entitled to make early payment, either partly or in full, at no extra charge. The arrangement fee is Rb 7,000 if paid in cash at one of Uniastrum’s banking centers, or Rb 5,000 in cases where the customer opts to pay using a Visa Electron Instant Issue card given out as part of the Bank’s U-Cross Auto card scheme. Use of the card carries no administration fee.

In order to augment its Uni SPB initiative, earlier this month Uniastrum teamed up with Autoholding RRT, one of Saint Petersburg’s biggest auto dealers, and launched a joint special credit program for Bank customers looking to buy a Subaru. The result, Uni SPB RRT, enables borrowers to purchase a Subaru automobile at any of the dealer’s car centers on even easier terms. Autoholding RRT is the only official Subaru dealer operating in Russia’s north-west region. For more details of these credit programs and to apply for an auto loan, visit http://www.uniastrum.ru/spb/personal/crediting/auto/.

“Over the first five months of this year our Saint Petersburg branch issued more than half a billion rubles in auto loans,” notes Vasily Kuznetsov, head of Uniastrum’s retail division. “Needless to say, we are happy with the result and, moving forward, aim to launch similar credit programs in other regions.”