OREANDA-NEWS. May 30, 2014. These days, Sviaz-Bank (Vnesheconombank) is marking 23 years since its establishment. One of the oldest lending and financial institutions in Russia, the Bank has been, for over 20 years already, providing quality banking services to its customers and is a reliable source of funding for many Russian businesses and individuals.

Last year, Sviaz-Bank put in high performance in all main areas of finance. On April 1 of this year, the Bank’s assets had grown to 332.6 billion rubles, with 40.9 billion rubles in equity (capital). Implementation of the Bank’s Strategy will enable Sviaz-Bank to double the size of its assets by 2020 and triple its first-level capital by 2022.

Over three months of 2014, the Bank earned 453 million rubles in net profit, its net interest income reached 2.7 billion rubles, and its net operating income came out at 2.9 billion rubles.

The Bank has a workforce of almost 3,500 in Moscow and its regional branches. Its network of banking services providers comprises 52 branches, 83 backup offices, four operational offices, 16 operational point-of-sale offices, and countless automated teller machines and terminals.

From its first day in banking in 1991 to this day, Sviaz-Bank has given first priority to each customer’s interests, to the high quality of the services it provides, continued improvements in its line of products, and to accessibility of its banking services across Russia.

Individuals and corporate entities it has attracted are contributing to the growth of the Bank’s customer base together with its deposit and loan portfolios. On April 1, Sviaz-Bank had 195.8 billion rubles in its total loan portfolio and 117.4 billion rubles in its deposit portfolio.

All over last year, the Bank vigorously developed its socially oriented programs for servicemen among its customers and for employees of government budget-funded enterprises. As a result, its Military Mortgage portfolio topped 23.5 billion on May 1, 2014. The Bank has rolled out several new retail products that won immediate popularity – pre-approved loans for reliable customers and a seasonal Champion deposit account that has become the top-earner in the Bank’s line of products and drawn in over 7 billion rubles in deposits above expectations.

In the first quarter of this year, the Bank made loans to the FSUE Post of Russia, the SDS, GAZ, and Sinergia groups of companies, the Kristall Production Association, OJSC, the State Transport Leasing Company, OJSC, and the Irkutsk Electric Power Network Company, OJSC, among others, totaling nearly 46 billion rubles. The Bank’s traditional major borrowers come from communications, electric power, and manufacturing that account for the biggest proportion of the Bank’s corporate loan portfolio. The Bank also issues loans to companies in other industries and to small and medium businesses.

Sviaz-Bank is actively developing commercial acquiring and contactless payments in regions of its presence. Sviaz-Bank’s POS terminals in operation turned over more than 600 million rubles in 2013. Aside from traditional terminals, the Bank is setting up contactless payment terminals in Russia’s biggest and most significant cities, such as St. Petersburg, Kazan, and Sochi, and preparations are underway to have them in other cities as well. The Bank plans to replace all existing terminals with modern contactless POS terminals.

Cooperation with the national network of automated teller machines (ATM) and cash dispensing points operated by the United Payment System enables Sviaz-Bank’s customers to withdraw cash and make payments through their own ATM system and other ATMs of over 180 lending organizations.

“We can say with certainty today that Sviaz-Bank is a bank that is widely known and trusted, that is never at standstill, that sets itself large tasks it will fulfill by introducing new technologies, improving its management system, and automating banking transactions. We are seeking to build comprehensive long-term relations with our customers. We realize the obvious social significance of projects that we are developing today and our responsibility to society and its individual members by implementing social lending programs, and programs of support to pensioners, the military, doctors, and teachers. We plan to build up business in all areas, to join the 30 leading banks in the loan totals and deposits accepted from the public, and reinforce our position among the Top 30 banks in lending totals and placement of our corporate customers’ funds in profit-earning projects,” said Denis Nozdrachev, Sviaz-Bank’s President-Management Board Chairman.