"VAB Bank": feedback from depositors, deposits, problems

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

"VAB" bank, reviews of depositors about which have recently begun to appear with a negative connotation, is a universal credit and financial organization, on whose account there are quite large foreign investments. The main services of the organization are work with corporate clients and individuals, investment activities and international customer service, interbank operations. The history of the creation of "VAB" bank goes back to the distant 1992. In accordance with the rating classification of banks according to the NBU, the institution occupied the 1st place in the group of the largest financial institutions in the country. Branches of the financial organization worked in all corners of the state.

"VAB" bank, reviews of which can be met both bad and good, supported the international level payment system. These are VISA International, MasterCard and International. The powers of the bank included the payment of funds under pension programs.

What attracted you to collaborate?

"VAB" bank has always attracted the attention of investors, as it had an impeccable reputation. A large financial institution should not have gone bankrupt even in times of severe crisis. The size of the bank and the number of branches in Ukraine indicated that the system would not collapse. The enterprise acted as the backbone of the entire financial structure of the country, and its default should have hit the economy as a priority. Within the framework of the bank, the most favorable dollar exchange rate was always available. Clients were offered versatile financial services at a minimal cost. Separately, we can say about the deposits, which, against the background of other offers on the market, looked very attractive. For the entire almost twenty-year history of the bank's existence, there have never been any complaints from customers, both interest and the deposits themselves were paid on time. All this in a complex and provided confidence in the financial institution, attracted many investors to cooperate. What are the successfully experienced crises of 1998 and 2008.

What the numbers say, or the latest positive statistics

Despite the very good reputation of the bank, the latest statistics show that the financial institution has some difficulties. According to statistics, the institution ranks first in the rating of Ukrainian banks and is a member of the second group. The authorized capital of the institution "VAB" bank, reviews of which are not the best, is equal to 3,048,619 thousand hryvnias. Net interest income for the last reporting period, according to the data provided by the bank, was UAH 475,543 thousand. There is another interesting indicator that reflects the situation - profit for the reporting period, which is almost minus 50 thousand hryvnia. On the backgroundother indicators, the amount is not significant, but you should already think about the liquidity of a financial institution.

How did the first problems start?

For the first time, depositors of VAB Bank, whose branches worked throughout Ukraine, began to experience difficulties with the payment of deposits back in the spring of 2014. Moreover, the delay was not only in terms of the return of deposits, but also in the payment of interest on deposits. The bank's management did not allow panic at that time and constantly focused on the fact that soon the financial institution would receive good refinancing, and all problems and temporary difficulties would be a thing of the distant past.

This statement was not a hoax, and at the beginning of the crisis period, the financial institution actually received good funding due to the fact that Oleg Bakhmatyuk managed to negotiate with the new government. The bank's management takes a decisive step and announces the issuance of deposits in the amount of 1000 hryvnia per day. A considerable tranche eventually disappears almost without a trace. There are suggestions that large financial assistance was spent on maintaining Bakhmatyuk's business and to maintain the currency. Although it is simply impossible to prove these facts. In addition, the media has repeatedly written that it is on the money of the depositors of the VAB bank, the reviews of which are frightening, that the businessman builds his agricultural business.

Let's get back to the return of deposits. The established limit of 1000 hryvnia did not last long. With the established limit on hand, no one received this amount. In order not to scare off depositorsby lowering the limits to 500, 300 hryvnia, the leaders acted quite differently. In fact, real money was in the cash desks of the bank no more than 1-2 times a week. Transfers to other accounts have been closed. For premature termination of the contract, customers had to pay a 10% deposit. And that was just the tip of the iceberg. All this jeopardized the reputation of the financial organization "VAB" bank. The reviews of 2014 were the first signals of the coming crisis.

What raises suspicions: management misconduct

According to the latest information from the media, the owner of the shares of the VAB bank, which is getting worse and worse every month, is Bakhmatyuk, already known in Ukraine. Despite the fact that the owner of the shares denies any involvement in the bank, the facts say otherwise. As it turned out, the financial institution simultaneously lends to 4 companies owned by Bakhmatyuk: Rise Maksimko and Niva, Spetsagrarproekt and Agro Alfa. Moreover, the management of a financial institution is a person close to the latter, who acted in the person of its representatives in a number of court hearings. An interesting fact is that loans issued to agricultural companies were provided at ridiculous interest rates, within 16%, which is practically equivalent to deposit programs and does not cover the losses of a financial institution. In the press, there are more and more statements that "VAB" bank, reviews of which are negative, was bought solely for the purpose of lending to the agrarian companies mentioned above, and aboutmutually beneficial partnerships with individuals and corporate clients were out of the question. The illiterate policy of the new management has led to the fact that the depositors' reviews of the financial institution VAB Bank leave much to be desired.

Mistakes in scams: a history of problems

In addition to illegal and unqualified actions on the part of the new government of the financial institution "VAB" bank, the fate of the enterprise was determined by financial fraud, which was repeatedly mentioned in the newspaper "Vecherniye Vesti".

Initially, information became available to the public about the strikes of cashiers who completely refused to carry out foreign exchange transactions that did not fall under the law at the request of the leadership. An unexpected bank check confirmed that transactions worth more than $4 million were carried out within the institution. This is 10 times more than the currency was actually bought from individuals. Here we will make a reservation that the exchange rate for buying and selling American currency on the market at that time was one of the most attractive for the bank.

The situation is embellished by the fact that the purchase of currency by an ordinary client in the amount of 100-200 dollars was impossible, as the cashiers were constantly talking about the lack of cash in the cash register. The audit showed that every day hundreds of thousands of dollars were bought in the department, and this was only in one hand. At the same time, payments were divided into several parts so as not to attract attention. Fake documents were used. All receipts were signed by the cashiers themselves. Total volume of transactions during the daysometimes exceeded $2 million, which is reflected in the documents. The NBU did not manage to establish how things are in the bank, since the volume of transactions performed did not coincide with the actual actions of cashiers. In addition, the video recordings were not fully provided during the check, and some tapes were also edited. Due to this fact of violation, the bank lost the confidence of the NBU and came under the risk of losing its license. Frauds also spoiled the reputation of the establishment of VAB Bank, and the reviews began to appear very negative.

How are depositors suffering?

The illiterate policy of the new leadership, which allows issuing multimillion-dollar interest-free loans, negatively affects the bank's fulfillment of its obligations to depositors, of which there are many. The strategy of activity, in parallel with the distortion of reporting, affects the reputation. This explains the fact that lately the reviews of depositors about the establishment of VAB Bank have been negative. According to clients who have been cooperating with the latter for many years and have never had any complaints, today there are some troubles. This is the non-payment of deposits upon expiration of their terms. Particular difficulties are associated with dollar deposits. Attempts by the financial institution to eliminate difficulties by attracting capital from foreign investors failed, therefore, painful problems with deposits remained in limbo.

How is the withdrawal of deposits, and is it carried out at all?

Reviews systematically speak about the presence of problems with the company "VAB" bank. Depositors not only cannot get their money in hand, they experience a number of inconveniences due to the lack of full-fledged cooperation. There are systematic reports of the inoperability of online banking and the inability to make transfers. If the funds previously transferred to the card account from the deposit could be withdrawn at Atmosfera ATMs or by bank transfer in stores, today this possibility is not available. Clients do not even have the opportunity to transfer their savings from one account to another.

There is systematically no money in the cash desks of branches, and ATMs are empty. The management of VAB Bank, represented by Oleg Bakhmatyuk, filed an appeal with the NBU for additional capitalization of the institution. Unfortunately, the request was denied, as the policy of the institution has long been called into question. Back in early 2015, investors stood in long queues with the last hope, which did not bring any result. The only hope for a refund is the payments by the insurance fund, albeit partial.

Rallies and protests are the extremes that investors go to

About the company "VAB" bank customer reviews for the last year there are only negative. People in a panic are trying to get their savings back. After the introduction of a temporary amnesty by the NBU, the institution was declared insolvent. In society, the tense situation was not limited to negative reviews. People went to rallies, tried to personally communicate with the leadership of the organization, which, frankly, did not bring any results. There was evena story in Kyiv that was reported in the local media, when women took to the streets with posters calling for the return of funds and blocked the movement of cars on the streets of Kyiv. Over many years of productive work, the bank has accumulated quite a lot of customers, especially since the former management of the financial institution has always organized its work in such a way as to fulfill all its obligations to customers. The only thing that pleases depositors today is the statement of Alexandru Pisaru, who holds the main post of first deputy of the NBU. According to him, the relevant services are now taking all steps to withdraw VAB Bank (Ukraine) from the market and at the same time satisfy most of the creditors' claims.

Payments from the Guaranteed Deposit Fund: is it worth counting on the legal minimum?

After the temporary administration was introduced at VAB Bank in September 2014, the problems of which affected thousands of people all over Ukraine, the Guaranteed Deposits Fund undertook to pay about 200 thousand hryvnias to each depositor, if the size of the deposit equal to or greater than the standard. Payments were scheduled for the end of 2014, and it was during this period that queues began to gather at the cash desks of still operating branches and at Ukrsotsbank branches. The clients of the VAB bank, whose deposits attracted people a few years ago, were recorded in the lists in order to clarify the time of payments. The day after the visits, no money was paid.

The story continued from day to day. People had todraw up cards and gradually receive payments on them. Information on the relative full fulfillment of obligations by the NBU by the Deposit Guarantee Fund has not yet been received. The situation remains knee-deep today.

Who blames Bakhmatyuk, or the situation through the eyes of a Ukrainian businessman

The situation in which VAB Bank got into hit the pockets of many residents of Ukraine. But the most interesting thing in the current circumstances is that the main owner of the shares of the financial institution, Bakhmatyuk, does not admit his guilt. He imposes responsibility for what happened on the NBU. According to him, he offered to save the situation by becoming an investor in the institution, he planned to invest UAH 3 billion in VAB Bank (Kyiv) as a shareholder. The NBU also promised to make additional capitalization in the amount of 4 billion hryvnia. However, at the last moment, the state refused to capitalize. The second attempt by a Ukrainian businessman to save the situation was to provide a subordinated debt to a bank for 10 years, but due to an affiliated investor portfolio, the proposal was rejected. The reasons for this decision of the NBU was the commission, which came to the bank with a check and recorded the existence of financial fraud. Even the experts failed to assess the internal affairs of the bank in detail, given all the available statistical information. The media tended to believe that the inability to control the situation prompted the NBU to liquidate the country's largest bank.