Valentina Arbuzova and Sergey Arbuzov
According to several bankers, Expobank, a medium-sized bank by asset size, recently received refinancing from the NBU. This information has not yet been verified. But here's what's noteworthy.
According to them, the bank is controlled by the fugitive former deputy prime minister, former "best central banker in Eastern Europe" Sergei Arbuzov.
There's no official confirmation of this yet. "The treasurers who worked with them are all aware that Arbuzov's money is in Expo," claims a banker once close to Arbuzov.
Back in 2012, Expobank found itself in a difficult situation. Several of its largest borrowers defaulted on their debts, and the bank began having trouble repaying clients. The bank essentially collapsed. Expobank's chairman of the board and then-major shareholder, Yuriy Getmanenko, according to colleagues, spent several months pestering the NBU in hopes of securing a stabilization loan. But this proved difficult. The troubled bank lacked sufficient collateral, and the banking regulator, then headed by Serhiy Arbuzov, was in no hurry to help the lowly financial institution.
Rumors began circulating in the market that the bank would be placed under temporary administration and that liquidation proceedings were pending. But things turned out differently. The bank was ultimately "picked up" by NBU officials.
It happened at the last minute. Beginning in 2011, Getmanenko had been trying to sell his brainchild to foreign investors. But to no avail. There were even some interested buyers, but the seller was asking too high a price—around $50 million, more than twice the bank's capital. Understandably, after the crisis, no one wanted to buy it for that kind of money.
Yuri Getmanenko
In late 2012, when the bank was no longer able to meet its obligations, it turned to the NBU for support. According to a former NBU employee, Expobank's owner was offered a refinancing loan, in exchange for which he was offered a transfer of ownership to new shareholders—individuals controlled by Sergei Arbuzov.
"The information quickly spread across the market. This was evident both from the bank's transactions and from the growth in assets. Although, of course, no one publicized the presence of Arbuzov's money in the bank," says the deputy chairman of a small bank.
Expobank itself could neither confirm nor deny this information (see the bank's response below). A written request sent to NBU Governor Valeria Gontareva also went unanswered.
"A bank could have been sold 'under the table' without any formal formalities. We have such a practice and tradition. This is especially true if state resources need to be utilized and the owner doesn't want to be seen," says Dmitry Shestakov, partner at the investment firm Goldman Milestone Group.
Be that as it may, at the very end of 2012, Expobank hastened to please its depositors and announced the allocation of a long-term refinancing loan from the National Bank.
"To protect the rights of Expobank's depositors and creditors, the NBU is considering the issue of maintaining the long-term liquidity of this banking institution," the National Bank said in a statement on December 27, 2012.
The loan amount and repayment terms were not disclosed. But the fact that the National Bank, which had been virtually silent at the time, disseminated such news is impressive.
Just two weeks later, on January 9, 2013, Expobank itself announced that it was undergoing pre-sale due diligence. "Expobank's due diligence is in its final stages," the bank stated, but the names of the buyers were not disclosed.
It appears the pre-sale inspection was completed in just a few days. By January 10 of that same year, Yuriy Getmanenko confirmed that the parties had effectively shaken hands:
"Today, we can confirm that the largest foreign players in the Ukrainian banking market have either already left it or are planning to do so. However, even under these circumstances, Expobank was able to demonstrate its investment appeal. This is precisely what allowed us to move closer to signing a long-planned deal."
He also announced the amount of the investment from the mysterious investors: $50 million. That's more than twice the bank's capital, which seemed incredibly expensive.
"The entire history of this bank's development is linked to Yuriy Hetmanenko. Starting in 2010, the bank had been struggling. He was constantly looking for an investor. The amount he needed to restore solvency was $35 million. They were willing to sell for that amount. And then it turned out that the necessary resources had been found. Most likely, it was a Ukrainian investor," says Anatoliy Guley, Chairman of the Board of the Ukrainian Interbank Currency Exchange.
Be that as it may, no one ever identified the mythical foreign investors among the bank's shareholders. At the time Expobank received the NBU stabilization loan, its largest shareholders were Yuriy Hetmanenko (49,44%) and the Cypriot offshore company Yuli Trading Co. Limited (34,18%). The latter, it seems, was also controlled by Hetmanenko.
By mid-2013, the bank reported that it had no shareholders holding more than 10%. This meant the bank was not obligated to publish their names or titles. Thus, in accordance with the law, the owners' identities were carefully concealed.
In short, nothing surprising. Ownership rights to other "family" financial institutions—Brokbusinessbank and Real Bank—were registered in the same manner. "This way, the banks conceal their real owners, which allows them to avoid personal liability for the bank's dire state," asserts Rostislav Kravets, senior partner at the law firm Kravets & Partners.
There are dozens of such "nobody's" banks on the market. The National Bank has never fulfilled its promise to disclose the real beneficiaries, even though successive NBU governors vowed to do so. Vladimir StelmakhIt is unlikely that Valeria Gontareva will succeed in this either.
However, the change of ownership could not help but affect Expobank’s management.
On February 15, 2013, the head of Expobank's supervisory board, Vitaly Getmanenko, son of the chairman of the board, Yuriy Getmanenko, was dismissed.
Konstantin Maksimov was elected Chairman of the Supervisory Board. The banker began his career in 1989 as a driver for Donetsk ATP 11410. From 1996 to 1997, he held various positions at PrivatBank's Donetsk regional office. Sergey Arbuzov also began his career there from 1995 to 2000, and his mother, Valentina Arbuzova, headed this PrivatBank branch from 1994 to 2006.
Konstantin Maksimov, chairman of Expobank's supervisory board, worked with Sergey and Valentina Arbuzova at Privatbank's Donetsk branch in the 1990s.
The bank's reshuffles didn't end there. On April 24, 2013, Expobank saw the arrival of two new top managers.
Yulia Koltsova was appointed deputy chairperson of the board. It's worth noting that in 1997, she worked shoulder to shoulder with the Arbuzov family at the same Donetsk regional office of PrivatBank. While this could be a coincidence, it's more likely that Arbuzov simply installed his own "overseers" at the bank.
On October 4, 2013, shareholders dismissed two more relatives of board chairman Yuriy Getmanenko—Lilia Getmanenko and Gennady Getmanenko—from Expobank's supervisory board. They were replaced by Olga Degtyareva and Olesya Galka. Two members of the audit committee were also replaced. All that is known about the new appointees is that they all previously worked as ordinary accountants.
It's telling that in 2013, with the arrival of new, mysterious shareholders, Expobank demonstrated miraculous growth. Over the past year, the bank's assets doubled from UAH 1,8 billion to UAH 3,6 billion. Based on this indicator, the bank soared in the NBU rankings from 78th to 55th place.
Interestingly, Expobank's loan portfolio remained unchanged last year, stagnating at UAH 1,2 billion. Rumor has it that the bank's growth was primarily due to generous NBU refinancing and interbank loans, which were invested primarily in government bonds. Over the year, Expobank's interbank loans increased by UAH 1,1 billion, while its Central Bank portfolio for sale increased by UAH 900 million.
Moreover, the bank, which is represented in only a few regions, planned to cover almost half the country with its branches.
It seemed that Expo's plans changed dramatically after the change of power and the flight of its patrons abroad.
Expobank's assets fell by 1 billion hryvnias in the first half of 2014. Its government bond portfolio also shrank by a similar amount. Interbank loans halved to 700 million hryvnias. The bank "deflates" as sharply as it grew. All of this strongly resembles a simple capital drain by its real beneficiaries.
One can only guess where the money went and what it was ultimately spent on.
All that's known for sure is that the bank is almost completely down again. It stopped returning deposits and was barely processing payments.
"Clients of this bank are contacting us with complaints that it's not issuing deposits or even transferring funds intended for salaries. The bank is essentially inactive," Rostislav Kravets states.
Interestingly, Expobank plans to hold a shareholders' meeting on September 22, where the supervisory board will be re-elected and amendments to the charter will be made. It remains to be seen whether those associated with Arbuzov will leave the bank.
At least it's known that Valentina Arbuzova recently resigned from her position as chair of the board of the All-Ukrainian Development Bank, which is 100% owned by Oleksandr Yanukovych. It's unlikely she or her son would be interested in chairing Expobank's supervisory board.
"It looks like they've already squeezed everything they can out of him," says one banker familiar with the situation at Expobank.
According to another banker once close to the Arbuzov family, Valentina Ivanovna left her homeland long ago, fearing criminal prosecution.
"At this point, Valentina Ivanovna (Arbuzova – EP) considers her task of creating a successful bank accomplished and has decided to step down as Chair of the Board of VBR. Shareholder (Oleksandr Yanukovych – EP) has accepted her resignation. We find it difficult to comment on this decision, but we respect the choice of our permanent Chair... As for Valentina Ivanovna's new position, we have no information on that. You should contact her personally regarding this matter," VBR's press service reported.
We were unable to contact Valentina Arbuzova and her son, Sergei Arbuzov. It appears even the specially trained Ministry of Internal Affairs officers are unable to do so.
It seemed like Expobank was going under. But then, suddenly, rumors surfaced that the bank received refinancing from the NBU on either September 11 or 12. Is the story still ongoing?
Rumors have also been circulating in the banking system about Serhiy Arbuzov's infiltration of the government. He is said to be spending large sums of money to promote favored deputies, and has allegedly even retained influence within the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU). If so, these rumors will soon be confirmed by facts.
The bank provided a written response to the EP request. However, it was completely unintelligible.
APPENDIX. Expobank's response to EP's written questions.
"Ukrainian Truth"
Project "Economic Truth"
To the site's special correspondent
p.Komasi Oleksia
Shanovnyi Pan Oleksiy!
It's a shame since 08/18/2014. at No. 155 of the official publication “Vidomosti NCPFR” on June 22, 2014 there will be a Foreign Meeting of shareholders of JSC “CB “EXPOBANK”.
During the day, a look, a look, a diet, and a thorough treatment of the Head and members of the Caregiver for the sake of JSC "CB "EXPOBANK" were carried out. According to the legislation of Ukraine, the proposals for candidacies of the Head and members of the Security Council for the sake of shareholders must be given seven working days before the holding of the Foreign Meetings of shareholders. Stan as of September 10, 2014. There were no proposals from shareholders until the bank found any candidates. The head and members of the Posterezhnaya for the sake of it will be determined immediately during the hour of the Recruitment of shareholders of JSC CB EXPOBANK among candidates for shareholders of the bank.
JSC "CB "EXPOBANK" is a form of power of a public joint stock partnership. According to Ukrainian legislation, shares of a public joint stock company are traded on the stock market for free sale, and therefore the bank does not provide information about the sale or purchase of shares to the bank. Prote, it is significant that the stock of shareholders on the date of notification of the holding of the General Meeting of Shareholders did not change.
It is added that information about the power structure of JSC CB EXPOBANK is posted on the bank’s website and, subject to the requirements of the law, in other confidential areas. As of the date of the last register, there are no persons listed in the record between the transfer of shareholders.
On June 22, 2014, immediately after the Shareholders' Meeting, information regarding the decisions taken and changes at the warehouse of the Bank will be posted on the bank's website and will be made public as soon as possible. legislation.
Alexey Komakha, Economic truth
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