General meeting of shareholders of OJSC "Belgazprombank" took place

On March 23, a general meeting of shareholders of OJSC "Belgazprombank." was held at the Europe Hotel.  By its results the shareholders approved the results of activity of OJSC "Belgazprombank" for 2011, the bank's strategic development program for 2012-15, the grant (sponsor) assistance program for 2012, and also decided to increase the authorised capital stock of the bank by 100 million dollars.

In accordance with the approved strategy, the net profit of OJSC "Belgazprombank" over the next three years should make at least $ 160 million. Equity capital of the bank will increase to the amount not less than $ 230 million in equivalent. In addition, a growth of return on equity is provided for to a level not less than 19 percent.

Chairman of Board of Directors of Belgazprombank, Deputy Chairman of the Board, Chief of Financial and Economic Department of OJSC "Gazprom" Andrei Kruglov informed about the decision adopted by the shareholders of the bank to increase the authorised capital stock of the bank in 2012.

 – The increase in authorised capital stock of Belgazprombank will reduce the negative effects that were brought by last year's crisis, –  note dAndrey Kruglov.– Gazprom and Gazprombank will make investments in equal shares. Despite the fact that OJSC "Belgazprombank" is a non-core asset for Gazprom, Russia's share in the authorised capital of the bank in Belarus will further increase in 2012.

Following the results of the meeting of shareholders, there was held a press conference which was attended by representatives of the largest Belarus and foreign news agencies, and also newspapers, radio and Internet portals.

Member of Board of Directors of Belgazprombank, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Gazprombank Alexander Sobol also positively evaluates the outcomes of Belgazprombank’s work in 2011.

– We are pleased with the efforts of the Belgazprombank team and supported the decision to increase the authorised capital stock,–- said Alexander Sobol.–Besides,we intend to continue to collaborate with Belgazprombank in co-financing clients and in unified approach to risk management.

Chairman of the Board of OJSC "Belgazprombank" Victor Babariko emphasized that since 2012 Belgazprombank has been positioning itself as an "energy bank", actively co-operatingwith thegas-transport and power industries of Belarus. In particular, the bank will open for the regional gas companies, who settle with the basic gas suppliers incurrency, the total limit of $ 300 million (at a rate of 50 million dollars for each area of the Republic). Such a program would be economically sound to enterprises-borrowers.

At the same time,Belgazprombank continues to operate as a universal financial institution designed to serve the private sector, basically–- small and medium-sized businesses.

 

Balance of the work of OJSC "Belgazprombank" in 2011 (press release)

In 2011 OJSC "Belgazprombank" continued its characteristic tendency not only to keeping steadily the occupied positions in business, but also to raising the level of its achievements to new heights. In a difficult economic environment, the bank took prompt and, most importantly, effective solutions, which allowed to state the positive results of its activity. So, as of January 1, 2012, Belgazprombank took the seventh place in the banking system of the Republic in terms of authorised capital stock, net income, total assets and equity, and confidently entered TOP 10 largest banks in the country. In 2011 it obtained a profit of 166.9 billion rubles, that as compared with 2010 increased by 83.4 percent.

One of the main shareholders - Russia’s “Gazprombank" (Open Joint Stock Company) - in 2011 rendered a large-scale financial support to its affiliated bank in the form of a long-term subordinate loan for the sum of 40 million US dollars. The loan and its inclusion in the calculation of additional capital were the first step in implementing the decision of shareholders to restore capitalisation of Belgazprombank, which had decreased as a result of the devaluation process in Belarus. Gazprombank also increased for Belgazprombank a limit on foreign trade finance operations from 40 to 90 million US dollars that contributed to the growth of support to foreign trade activities of the bank clients. Another line of credit, resulting from cooperation with GPB (OJSC) went to finance small and medium businesses.
The situation with the lack of possibility to buy currency became a major event that determined the work of divisions of Belgazprombank corporate block in 2011. However, assigned tasks managed to be executed – Belgazprombank, owing to the correct positioning of the bank and loyal attitude of the clients to the problems, increased its market share, having kept excellent quality of its loan portfolio. The bank was able to interest in cooperation large enterprises of the Republic such as "Naftan", "Belshina", "Atlant-M Holpi", "Energy GmbH", the Belarusian Steel Works, "Belorusneft", and three sugar factories: in Slutsk, Zhabinka and Gorodeya. Belgazprombank also funded some projects of "Gomselmash."

Crediting of natural persons was actively carried out - the volume of credits lent out for 12 months in 2011 was 2 times higher than the rate having been achieved during the same period the preceding year. Past year the Delay system of consumer lending was developing particularly intensively. The portfolio of express credits increased by more than 3 times. A service was introduced, "Internet banking" - remote banking service, through which at any time from any point of the world you can manage your card account with a computer connected to the Internet. Within a few months in 2011 the number of customers having connected to the service "Internet banking" exceeded 6000 and is now nearing the mark of ten thousand clients. It should be noted that as a whole for 2011 the total number of clients  – legal entities and individual entrepreneurs served by the bank – had grown by almost 15 percent and reached 16.3 thousand by 01.01.2012.

Divisions of investment banking business in 2011 as in previous years faced the problems of strengthening financial stability and creating conditions to maintain active operations by expanding and diversifying the resource base of the bank. For example, in 2011 the mandate of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) about participation of Belgazprombank in the program of forming sustainable energy sector in the Republic of Belarus for the industry and private companies (BelSEEF) was signed. The Framework Agreement with the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) to start an open-end credit line to finance trade transactions (a monetary and guarantee component) in the amount of 20 million US dollars expanded the range of tools of international financial institutions in promoting trade that became accessible to "Belgazprombank". The preceding year, there had been agreed on the EDB Concept on the Bank project for the sum of 20 million US dollars under the current EDB development program for small and medium-sized businesses, as well as an agreement with Commerzbank AG on implementation of banknote dealing operations had been signed.

During the reporting period Belgazprombank gathered a rich harvest of prestigious international awards. Its eager activity in Europe and Central Asia in financing energy efficiency projects under the Global Trade Finance Program (GTFP) was acknowledged by the award of the International Finance Corporation (IFC). Belgazprombank was awarded “2011 Elite Quality Recognition Award by the largest U.S. bankJ.P. Morgan  for maintaining the high quality of international payments. The high degree of quality of international payments made Belgazprombank noted in the largest European Commerzbank AG Frankfurt am Main. This financial institution had presented Belgazprombank with “STP (Straight-Through Processing) Award 2010 – the award, annually given to those correspondent banks, which showed the highest percentage of payments that do not require manual handling at execution of the international commercial payments and interbank transfers.

Bank’s rendering charitable and sponsor's assistance from year to year acquires more and more the character of a system and program. In 2011, 2.9 billion rubles was transferred for these purposes. In particular, 400 million rubles was directed to the Foundation for Children "Chance". Slutsk specialized children's home and Ulukovskaya auxiliary boarding school for orphans and children left without parental care also received necessary funding built into the annual program.

"Theatre Week with Belgazprombank" de facto became one of the most prestigious events in the cultural life of Belarus: following the results of the last festival, OJSC "Belgazprombank" was awarded a special diploma of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Belarus for outstanding contribution to support of dramatic art.

The largest sponsor's project is the Bank's traditional patronage of one of the most famous sports clubs in our country - Brest handball club named after Meshkov - in organizing and conducting International handball tournament "Cup of Belgazprombank."
In 2011, a special creative impulse was received by Belgazprombank’s forming the collection of works by artists of the Parisian school of the 20th century. The collection will serve as a basis for creating a museum of private collections - the first in the territory of Belarus.

In the information field Belgazprombank moved towards providing current and potential clients with the widest access to the data about its activity. A new, radically reworked version of a corporate site www.belgazprombank.by was launched; a new online advice service was put into operation; Belgazprombank’s accounts were registered in all major social networks. It led to expanding the audience of potential consumers of its services and more timely informing a rapidly expanding so-called "internet active" client segment.

Today OJSC "Belgazprombank" positions itself as an "energy bank" building its relations with the gas-transport and power industries of Belarus as a whole. Movement in this direction has acquired a special urgency in the light of the recent acquisition of the second half of OJSC "Beltransgaz" stock by Russia’s "Gazprom". The first stage focuses on support of regional gas supply organizations, for which aggregate limits will be opened, roughly corresponding to the sum of imports of gas per month on average - $ 300-350 million

Change of the status of Beltransgaz sets new challenges for Belgazprombank. Therefore it is not accidental that the agenda for this meeting of shareholders includes the item of approving the strategic development program of OJSC "Belgazprombank" for the period till 2016 aimed at implementing the mission of the bank. It consists in assisting in formation of middle class in the framework of an effective market economy on the basis of maximum satisfaction of financial needs of legal and natural persons of the Republic of Belarus by providing a full range of customer-oriented, process-organized and high-tech banking products and services.