VTB has become the first bank to issue enough loans for Prime Minister Putin to allow its CEO to go on leave.
Vladimir Putin asked the heads of government-owned banks not to go on leave without his consent in late June, when he discovered that they had failed to meet the target of increasing their credit portfolios by 2% a month set by the Prime Minister last winter.
After approving the procedure of providing state guarantees on credits the Prime Minister demanded that the state-owned banks (Sberbank, VTB, VEB, Rosselkhozbank and Gazprombank) issue 500 billion roubles in loans (of which 300 billion roubles would be guaranteed by the state). Mr Putin asked the heads of banks "not to plan summer leaves" until they put crediting on stream.
The state-owned banks were to increase their total credit portfolio by 150 billion roubles a month by July and August, and to bring the increase to 400-500 billion roubles by September.
The target set for VTB was 100 billion roubles. Mr Kostin reported to Putin in Sochi yesterday that the target had been met: the bank's credit portfolio had grown by 6.4%, or 84 billion roubles in July. "So we had met 84% of the quarterly target in July."
"In other words, you are ready to go on leave, the process is well underway?" Mr Putin asked. "With your permission I would take just a week's leave. I don't think I can afford a longer one," the head of VTB pleaded. "Very well," the Prime Minister replied.
VTB reported yesterday that the largest amount of loans in July went to backbone strategic enterprises: the credit portfolio for these borrowers grew by 75.6 billion roubles (or 11.8%) compared with July 1. The bank had cut interest on loans to such enterprises by an average 2.3%, Mr Kostin reported to Putin.
Mr Kostin told Vedomosti in a 2008 interview that he liked taking holidays, but only short ones. After Mr Putin's request in June he was not sure he would be able to go on leave at all: "I don't know if I will have a chance to rest now, but once the crisis is over we will have long leaves."
Sberbank spokesman Sergei Rachkovksy was unable to say whether the bank's President German Gref was on leave. The bank's manager said Gref was on leave.
Sberbank has yet to present its report on its loan activities in July. According to its weekly reviews it issued about 300 billion roubles in loans during that month, says Mr Rachkovsky. A source at the bank said that its corporate portfolio had registered zero growth in July, but will grow in August.
In the case of VTB it is the other way round. "In August, we won't manage such a rate of increase [as in July], but on the whole I think that we will meet the target and move forward by the first decade of September," Mr Kostin said yesterday.
If one does not count Sberbank, the Russian banks increased loans to companies by 0.1% in July, said First Deputy President of the Central Bank, Gennady Melikyan.
In July, Gazprombank cut its corporate portfolio by 6.4% (51 billion roubles) as several major borrowers paid back their loans. The bank's spokesman said that the Chairman of its Board Andrei Akimov had not been on leave this summer. Rosselkhozbank increased its portfolio by 2.85% (14 billion roubles), and its Board Chairman has not taken a leave.
Anna Baraulina