As you may know, we have recently signed our first contract with SME Bank (The Russian Bank for Small
and Medium Enterprises Support) a subsidiary of Vnesheconombank (VEB). Funds will be used for
corporate lending, mainly through our regional offices. This will undoubtedly have a positive impact on the
development of Russias regional economy. Bank has the intention of continuing its co-operation with
SME Bank and signing additional contracts over RUB 3bn.
Overall, we have been providing loans to SME Bank for quite some time. For example, in the past we
offered a product called The Millionaire, whereby individual entrepreneurs were eligible to receive
credits amounting to RUB 1 million if they met certain criteria. Accordingly, we have accumulated
experience in valuing small businesses and have even developed our own approach when lending to
entrepreneurs. This is a practice we can always return to, even when times are difficult.
It is my deep conviction that banks need to be diversified, even if some of my Russian colleagues may
disagree. In todays market environment, only effective diversification is able to successfully mitigate
certain regulatory risks. However, as long as there is a popular consensus that higher than normal profit
margins can only be reached at the price of higher risks, even a profitable bank may face the risk of a
regulatory crackdown if it concentrates its assets in high-margin product lines.