Bank "Svyaznoy": problems, customer reviews

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

CJSC "Svyaznoy" is one of the largest credit institutions in Russia at the federal level. The history of the financial institution is small and goes back to 2010. At that time, the Svyaznoy group of companies signed an agreement with Promtorgbank on the formation of a single and large-scale financial institution. Svyaznoy Bank, whose problems did not bother in the first stages of its existence, immediately after its appearance introduced an innovative product on the financial market - the Svyaznoy bank card, which significantly diversified the line of offers and drew attention to the organization.

History

"Svyaznoy" bank (Moscow) officially began to work in 2010, but the structure of clients was inherited from a partner in the person of JSC "Promtorgbank", which was established in 1992. The organization belonged to the category of medium-sized enterprises that specialized in servicing industrial enterprises and commercial companies. The experience of partnering with legal entities was new, but veryuseful. The history of the Svyaznoy group of companies goes back to 1995. The main specialization of enterprises to this day remains the same: the sale of electronics, the sale of communications and computer equipment. Svyaznoy Bank, whose branches are located throughout Russia, today offers its customers a wide range of financial services, including the issuance of credit cards. The institute's client base includes about 3,000 corporate clients from various sectors of the economy. The number of retail customers has already reached 1.5 million. Standard banking services such as settlement and cash transactions, loans and deposits are supplemented by factoring and acquiring services.

"Svyaznoy" today

Bank Svyaznoy, whose problems have appeared relatively recently and have not yet greatly affected the activities of the financial institution, is included in the TOP-50 Russian banks. All bank deposits are insured by the deposit insurance system. The highlight of the company's product line was the Svyaznoy card, which successfully combined the possibilities of both credit and debit. If the balance of funds is recorded on the card, 10% per annum will be credited to it. For each transaction, the cardholder receives bonuses. The credit limit for this type of product is 250 thousand rubles. Bank customers can use the services of the latter in one of the many offices. For the entire, albeit short, history of its existence, Svyaznoy Bank (St. Petersburg) had no complaints from customers. Service levelhas always been top notch. The recent outrage is that the institute has set limits on cash withdrawals, thereby mirroring the actions of its competitors, who are deprived of their license and have already gone through the liquidation process.

The first harbingers of trouble

According to both clients and financial market experts, Svyaznoy Bank began to experience problems at the moment when it was decided to limit the amount of cash that can be withdrawn from an ATM. In accordance with the innovation, there are restrictions in ATMs of both the bank itself and partners. Clients can cash out no more than 25 thousand rubles in one day. Transferring funds from a bank card via P2P transfer is available only for an amount not exceeding 5 thousand rubles per day. A certain restriction has been introduced on interbank transfers in electronic format, which cannot exceed the amount of 50 thousand rubles. The only direction that is not limited by limits is the payment for purchases with services, using the capabilities of the QBank service inclusive.

What is the media talking about?

It is widely reported that Svyaznoy Bank is closing branches throughout the country. According to the management, this approach to the restructuring of the bank's activities will allow to save the lion's share of its budget. According to management, such actions will not affect the quality of customer service in the regions, as they practically do not visit offices and use alternative partnerships and transactions. Most financial clientsestablishments tend to believe that in connection with such drastic measures taken by the management, in the near future, the financial institution may face reorganization, as in the case of Trust Bank, or revocation of the license. At the moment, Svyaznoy Bank, whose branch addresses have been significantly reduced recently, is operating in standard mode with some amendments, and the management of the institution officially declares that there can be no talk of revoking the license and liquidating it. The information leaked to the media at the end of 2014 about the upcoming reorganization, at the request of the leadership itself, not only remains unconfirmed, but also officially refuted. The only thing that Svyaznoy Bank, whose liquidity problems have taken by surprise, needs is an investor to normalize work. Management says there are quite promising proposals.

Credit card limits - a precaution or something more serious?

Svyaznoy is actively reducing limits on credit cards. If earlier in 99% of contracts the loan provided to customers ranged from 10,000 rubles to 150,000 rubles, today it is limited to the current amount of debt. Management attributed the reduction in limits to changes in funding costs. It is extremely important to adjust the price terms of lending in connection with the current cost of raising capital. The pruning is initially applied to non-utilized credits with zero usage.

What are customers saying about lowering limits?

After the bank "Svyaznoy" (St. Petersburg) began to cut limits, customers reacted to the situation with numerous negative reviews. Despite the fact that the bank is talking about trimming only 5% of loans, a wave of indignation rose very large, since the decision was made unilaterally. Whether the bank will return the limits to their previous levels will depend only on what the future economic situation in the country will be like. Quite a number of banks faced problems. They suspended their activities, waiting for a change in the situation, as a sharp outflow of capital could be decisive in the future fate of institutions.

Massive layoffs

"Svyaznoy" bank, whose office addresses have been sharply reduced, did not limit itself to closing branches. In total, in the period from January to March 2015, the staff of the financial institution decreased by 27%. By April 1, 2015, the number of bank employees corresponds to 1406 specialists. In January of this year, this figure corresponded to 1,921 thousand people. In general, over the current year, the number of specialists at Svyaznoy Bank has decreased by 36%. The size of the paid wages has significantly decreased. In the first quarter of 2015, the employees of the financial institution received 25.2 million rubles. This is about 27% lower than in the same period last year. At the same time, there was an increase in social payments, which rose to 123.5 million rubles from 4.1 million rubles. Since the end of 2014, the credit institution has been experiencing certainfinancial difficulties. On April 16, the Central Bank issued a ban on accepting new deposits to the bank, as on April 1, the financial institution left the capital adequacy standards in accordance with the regulator's standards.

Bank refusal to restructure debt

Before the offices began to close, Svyaznoy Bank was praised by most customers from all sides. There are individuals who have written extensively about a loyal and respectful attitude towards customers, which is not found in other large financial institutions. The emphasis was on the integrity of the organization and on the diversity of products, on a flexible partnership scheme. With the onset of difficulties, according to customer reviews, the relationship has changed significantly. So, one of the clients, due to the loss of her job, applied for debt restructuring. According to her, representatives of the bank did not respond to any of the numerous appeals. As a result, the woman talks about the constant threats of collectors on the phone and annoying calls to everyone she knows. She plans to file a lawsuit against the bank with the prosecutor's office. A similar situation is described by many other people who have decided to act in a similar way.

What are the contributors saying?

"Svyaznoy" bank, which previously accepted deposits with great intensity, today does not work in this direction in connection with the order of the Central Bank. In connection with this fact, the opinions of customers are divided. There are two categories of people. Some try to intensively withdraw funds from the bank, thereby causing a strong outflow of funds and exacerbatingsituation. The second group of clients, having what they say is an excellent relationship with the financial institution, is not going to take any action. People hope that Svyaznoy Bank, whose license is still valid at the moment, will successfully survive the temporary difficulties and will soon restore its activities in accordance with the regulations. The emphasis is on the fact that even as a result of the liquidation of a financial institution, the funds can be returned through the deposit insurance agency. Experts recommend acting to those persons whose deposits exceed 1.4 million rubles, including in dollar terms.

"Svyaznoy" fell into the ranks of problematic organizations

The end of 2014 was especially difficult for every financial institution in the country. There were banking crises all over Russia. Despite the wide network of offices and the scale of work, Svyaznoy fell into the ranks of troubled banking structures. In November 2014, the financial institution was on the verge of bankruptcy. Repeatedly since that period, restrictions on limits on bank cards were either introduced or lifted. Initially, the limits that are still in effect today were planned to be introduced only for the period of the New Year holidays. The panic on the part of customers who keep their savings in a financial institution is primarily due to the fact that more than 100 banks have already been closed since the crisis.

Bank outlook for 2015

Now it is very problematic to talk about whether Svyaznoy Bank is being closed or not, but the fact that there are liquidity problems due tothe measures taken by the management is obvious. The external economic situation suggests that the situation will not change in the near future. Despite the increase in the amount of the insurance deposit to 1.4 million rubles, the outflow of funds from the financial institution continues, which may lead to bankruptcy. Recall that Svyaznoy Bank stopped accepting deposits on the instructions of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, which reduced the sources of replenishment of the organization's budget. There is information about the institute's debt to the tax authorities in the amount of 1.2 billion rubles, upon payment of which settlement with creditors will become impossible, since the debt exceeds the amount by 2.5 times. The bank's management is actively working to stabilize the activities of the institution, which gives hope for the restoration of the normal operation of Svyaznoy. It is too early to make predictions, it remains only to observe the development of the situation.