On September 9, the head of the National Bank of Ukraine, Valeria Gontareva, made a series of high-profile statements, the most striking of which was undoubtedly the information about 200 FSB agents stirring up panic in the currency market with rumors. These high-profile statements were picked up by the media, overshadowing equally pressing issues in the NBU's operations, which were simply couched in professional bureaucratic jargon that was boring to journalists.
Thus, during the roundtable, Ms. Gontareva announced the NBU's intention to revise the list of collateral (toward greater liquidity) when issuing stabilization loans to banks. "In my opinion, the National Bank was given all the unnecessary real estate at, unfortunately, inflated prices," the NBU governor lamented the actions of her predecessors. However, the plural is inappropriate here, as the roundtable only addressed the activities of one of Valeria Oleksiivna's "predecessors" – Stepan Kubiv.
To be fair, it should be noted that Ms. Gontareva herself has so far only issued stabilization loans secured by government securities, although she has already received numerous requests for other collateral.
Having said "A" – Stepan Kubiv – we're simply doomed to say "B" – PrivatBank, because every third hryvnia of loans issued by the former Maidan vice-commandant went to the Maidan's former sponsor, PrivatBank. And 10 billion at a time…
No, of course not. Mr. Kubiv took a significant amount of PrivatBank's assets as collateral for this loan: the premises of 337 branches (14% of all PrivatBank branches) with 483 ATMs and 773 self-service terminals, serving 790 individual clients and 12 corporate clients. Experts estimate the collateral's value to be approximately 10 billion hryvnias. Without dwelling on the "plus or minus" (in fact, "minus"!) billion for the patriotic oligarch, let's assume the loan is secured by the collateral. All that remains is to find out where this collateral is located...
Where, where? Practically – in Karaganda! That is, in Crimea…
And now slowly, especially for those who still believe in patriotic oligarchs: “PrivatBank” took out a loan from the National Bank for the amount of lost property on the security... of this very lost property... I convey in the sovereign’s words: Stepan Kubiv, having paid the sovereign’s pennies to Igor Kolomoisky, spent as a result of confiscation of the main legacy of the Russian annexation to Crimea.
Perhaps, from the Talmudic perspective, Igor Valerievich's actions are brilliant, but if I were Stepan Ivanovich, I would inquire about the Criminal Code's point of view...
However, in the case of a patriotic court, Mr. Kubiv has a perfect alibi: "When I issued the loan, I had no doubt that Crimea would return to Ukraine within six months, and that PrivatBank's collateral would be under the control of the NBU!!" - "And now?" - "And now I have no doubt that within six months. And you, Madam Judge, what – you have no doubts?" - "Hm... And the 10 billion in hryvnias?!" - "They're in safe patriotic hands!" Then, a joint singing of the national anthem and an acquittal...
Okay, so we seem to have moved past those 10 billion... But here comes PrivatBank again, asking for a 10 billion loan. And again, it's securely secured by property... I think everyone's guessed where that property is located? That's right – in Donetsk, Luhansk, and the surrounding areas controlled by the self-proclaimed republics...
However, the current head of the NBU, Valeria Gontareva, has proven to be less of a patriot and more of a realist (practically a cosmopolitan!) and doesn't particularly believe in the liquidity of this PrivatBank asset...
In fact, it's necessary to distinguish between Privat's machinations and the situation with Privat, especially at the level of the so-called Privat Group. The fact is that the overall losses of Igor Kolomoisky and Co. – both those arising from objective causes (annexation and the Anti-Terrorist Operation) and subjective ones (due to their vile nature) – are catastrophic and allow us to speak with a high degree of truth about the de facto bankruptcy of the Privat Group.
PrivatBank's losses in Crimea are listed above; we will only add that more than a third of Crimeans (including Sevastopol) were clients of the bank.
As for Donbass, here we can cite PrivatBank's statistical data for Donbass as of July 1, 2014, which looked like this.
Donetsk region
number of branches – 311;
net assets – 2,942 billion UAH;
volume of deposits of individuals – 4,522 billion UAH;
the volume of demand deposits of individuals is UAH 1,106 billion;
loans issued to individuals – UAH 2,800 billion.
loans issued to legal entities – 0,223 billion UAH.
Lugansk region
number of branches – 144
net assets – 1,474 billion UAH.
the volume of deposits of individuals is 1,673 billion UAH.
the volume of demand deposits of individuals is 0,436 billion UAH.
loans issued to individuals – UAH 1,303 billion.
loans issued to legal entities – 0,144 billion UAH.
As of September 1, 2014, PrivatBank operated in only 32 locations in Donetsk Oblast (131 branches, 229 ATMs, 689 terminals) and 16 locations in Luhansk Oblast (21 branches, 16 ATMs, 44 terminals). This represented 42,1% and 14,6% of branches, respectively.
But, to this we must add the losses of the "Privat" group.
1.
Large industrial facilities:
Stakhanov Ferroalloy Plant (Luhansk Oblast). The largest producer of ferrosilicon in Ukraine, it accounts for over half of the national output. Almost 75% of the plant's output is exported. It is under militant control.
2.
Crimean real estate:
Belbek Airport. Igor Kolomoisky estimated his losses from the loss of Belbek at $15 million.
The Tavria health complex, with a total area of nearly 4 square meters in the village of Oliva near Yalta, is owned by PrivatBank. It is valued at $20 million.
The Foros sanatorium is located in the village of the same name. The entire complex is set within a relic park, an example of 19th-century landscape gardening.
An unfinished construction project – a recreational complex boarding house "Lazurny Bereg" with adjacent facilities, located in the village of Lazurny near Alushta.
The Niva Yayla base in the village of Gorny near Yalta,
Children's health complex in Yalta,
Children's health complex "Yunost" in the village of Zaozernoe near Yevpatoriya
Here we also need to add a number of unfinished construction projects and real estate that was pledged to PrivatBank.
3.
PFS
In Crimea (along with Sevastopol), there were 55 gas stations under the control of the Privat group, which have now been confiscated (“nationalized”).
Another 20 (plus or minus 2; out of 40) gas stations in Donbas are located in the self-proclaimed republics; diesel fuel and gasoline sales by the Privat Group in the region have fallen by three-quarters.
Clearly, given these losses, PrivatBank desperately needs cash. And they're using a very strong argument, practically blackmail: "If you don't issue the loan, you'll see the bankruptcy of the country's largest bank, with all the ensuing social consequences." But wouldn't it be that rescuing a bankrupt bank multiple times over cost us many times more?
Author: Dmitry DZHANGIROV, Gazeta.ua
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