October 23-25, 2009 saw the Bank’s branch managers get together in the Moscow region for their traditional summing up of 9M results and laying of plans for the coming year. The meeting was attended by managers from 47 regions Russia-wide.
One of the most tangible growth channels was Uniastrum’s small business lending program. Every month the Bank’s branch network issues over 150 loans totaling more than Rb 650 mn. As of October 1, 2009 Uniastrum’s SB lending portfolio amounted to Rb 3.4 bn, with returns averaging 25% pa. Moving forward, the lender intends to press ahead with plans to roll out its small business credit segment by expanding its product mix and sales channels, optimizing application and assessment procedures, improving borrower default solutions, as well as broadening the geographical scope of SB lending across the Bank’s sales network.
Likewise, Uniastrum’s branch-based corporate credit portfolio yielded highly encouraging results, growing a solid 64% YTD, or Rb 2.8 bn in absolute terms, to Rb 7.3 bn as of October 1, 2009. In terms of region, leading the field in credit amounts extended to corporate clients were UB branches in Saratov, Perm, Krasnoyarsk, Stavropol, Lipetsk, Chelyabinsk, Izhevsk, Yekaterinburg, Barnaul, Volgograd, Kursk, Tomsk, and Irkutsk.
It was a good 9M too for Uniastrum’s auto finance schemes. On the strength of its H109 results, Uniastrum secured a Top-ten slot among the country’s auto lenders, jumping to 7th position, according to figures released by RosBusinessConsulting. Over 9M09, the Bank gave out around 5,000 auto loans totaling more than Rb 2.7 bn, 82% of which were issued via regional branches. As of October 10, 2009, Uniastrum’s total auto finance portfolio stood at Rb 6.7 bn. The Bank now has its sights firmly set on a Top-5 position in Russia’s motor finance rankings.
Meantime, the number of plastic cards issued by Uniastrum continues to grow apace, climbing to 660,000 as of October 1, 2009, compared with 560,000 at year-end 2008. Moreover, more than 50,000 were credit cards, with the total spending limit topping Rb 3 bn as of October 1, 2009. During the reporting period, the number of ATMs incorporated into the United Settlement System was more than 5,000. For the record, 51% of Uniastrum’s plastic cards are issued in the regions, the regions/Moscow loan portfolio ratio standing at 66%:34%. As of October 1, 2009, the Bank’s plastic cardholder portfolio totaled Rb 1.4 bn.
As of October 1, 2009 the Bank’s retail deposit portfolio topped Rb 31 bn, with the total number of depositors reaching 130,000. Uniastrum ranks a strong 15th among Russia’s biggest lenders by fixed term deposits. The reporting period also saw a tangible increase in medium-term deposits (i.e. in the range of 181 days to one year), which accounted for 55% of the overall number. The advantages to be gained by depositing funds with Uniastrum remain, as before, flexible terms, attractive interest rates, as well as a broad product mix catering to virtually all sections of society.
“A salient feature of Uniastrum Bank is its ongoing and progressive expansion in terms both of upsized business volumes, and improved client services,” says Pavel Neumyvakin, Chairman of Uniastrum’s Management Board. “One of our key priorities is ensuring that all our offices offer a uniformly high level of service, and this is undoubtedly one of the main reasons for our success.”
For more information call or write Olga Kurganova:
744 04 04, ext. 1066
kurganova@uniastrum.com