Top 50 Russian Consumer Banks

Twice as many credits were given in 2003, compared to 2002, i.e. $10.3bn and $4.9bn respectively). As of July 1, 2004, this figure almost reached $12.8bn. According to preliminary estimations, last year people borrowed more money than they had over the previous five years. The growth rates are impressive. The volume of consumer lending doubled amid quite high interest rates that are way higher than the cost of credits for companies. Therefore, according to the Central Bank of Russia, the average interest rate for short-term US-dollar credits reached 8.38% for companies and organizations, and 12.06% for individuals in the fist five months of 2004. The increase in the volume of consumer lending is due not only to economic development, but also the introduction of new credit products for various categories of clients. The dynamic development of consumer lending "warms up" the appearance of another service - insurance against contract default.

According to the Central Bank of Russia, 30 major public consumer creditors occupied 76% of this market by the first half of 2004. Sberbank is number one, which is historically justified. It accounts for 50.95% of the total amount of credits. In 2003 its share was 48.3%, and in 2002 - close to 40%. It is followed by Russian Standard Bank (RSB) with 4.91%, HomeCredit & Finance Bank with 1.91%, Raiffeisenbank Austria with 1.72% and 1st OVK Bank with 1.38%. It is clear that foreign bank subsidiaries create quite a competition for Russian banks.

Consumer lending for a period of one and a half to up to three years (mainly "household" and "automobile" credits) account for 38.5% in the total structure of consumer credits and keeps growing. The number of "household" credits exceeds substantially the number of mortgage credits. A couple of years ago, mortgage lending had been available to employees of foreign companies only. Now, many banks do a favor for their clients. However, this type of lending is in no way a battlefield for players of the lending market yet.

Automobile lending is becoming more and more popular among Russians, but its volumes still remain insignificant. According to preliminary estimations, up to 15% of cars are sold on credit (in the West this figure is close to 80%). At the same time, there are a number of banks, in which automobile lending constitutes a great deal of their credit portfolios. Following a decrease in the refinancing rate early in 2004, automobile credit rates both in US dollars and rubles went down greatly too. Popular marketing instruments, namely image actions arranged by banks in cooperation with car dealers, deserve special attention here. Credits rates are lower, and the difference is covered by car dealers. But the truth is that sometimes this difference is added to the car price.

Experts predict that the hottest period will be in 2005-2006. The Russian consumer lending market will be surging fast (according to various projections, the volume of mortgage lending will go up 1.8 times as much, and automobile lending - 2.5 times). Early in 2004, credits accounted for 3.5% in people's expenditures, which is to be 5% by the end of 2005, the Macroeconomic Research Center of BDO Unicon said.

Many factors facilitate this. Legislation is improving: compulsory notarization of real estate loan agreements, which cost 1.5 percent of the total cost of an apartment on average, has been abolished recently; the banking strategy of the Finance Ministry provides for simplifying the formalities for small loans (not exceeding RUR300,000). Broadening of the service portfolios of banks as well as a decrease in the interest rates and extension of the maturity of loans will support further development of the market. The average annual interest rates for mortgage loans with a maturity period of not more than 3 years were at 27-33% for ruble loans and 17-22% for loans in foreign currency in 2002. At present, the average interest rate for morgage loans in foreign currency is 12%, and some banks offer far lower rates. For example, Raiffeisenbank offers an interest rate of 8 % plus LIBOR (which presently equals 1.5%). However, this bank has stricter rules for selecting clients. The average maturity period for loans has increased from 9-11 years to 25-28 years over the past 2-3 years.

Experts of insurance companies forecast that risks for banks could increase by several times within the next few years: growing competition on this market will make many market participants extend the circle of potential customers, so as to cover middle to lower middle class people (with incomes of less than $500).

№	Bank	Loans to individuals, $1 000	0,5 to 3 year loans, $1 000	Total loans, $1 000	Short-term loans, %
1	SBERBANK (Savings Bank of the Russian Federation)	6 482 806	546 613	6 482 815	8,43
2	RUSSIAN STANDARD	624 898	379 901	624 996	60,78
3	HOME CREDIT & FINANCE BANK	243 563	231 255	243 563	94,95
4	RAIFFEISENBANK AUSTRIA	211 268	118 150	218 876	53,98
5	FIRST OVK	175 570	163 042	175 802	92,74
6	CENTRAL OVK	156 963	133 334	156 966	84,94
7	URALSIB	138 379	115 218	138 379	83,26
8	SIBERIAN OVK	114 513	101 163	114 513	88,34
9	CREDIT AGROPROMBANK	111 867	91 218	113 069	80,67
10	MDM-BANK	106 379	95 465	106 935	89,27
11	BANK OF MOSCOW	94 214	66 560	94 214	70,65
12	INTERNATIONAL MOSCOW BANK	87 891	54 748	88 302	62,00
13	GAZPROMBANK	85 759	32 263	85 765	37,62
14	ZAPSIBKOMBANK	81 114	44 605	81 141	54,97
15	КМБ-БАНК	80 383	79 344	80 383	98,71
16	MOSCOW CREDIT BANK	79 901	68 764	79 927	86,03
17	SIBAKADEMBANK	77 863	68 696	77 863	88,23
18	ROSBANK	70 950	67 277	75 277	89,37
19	DELTACREDIT	68 144	536	72 216	0,74
20	SURGUTNEFTEGAZBANK	71 677	36 999	71 677	51,62
21	FAR EAST OVK	70 149	57 394	70 149	81,82
22	SOBINBANK	62 473	51 869	62 526	82,96
23	VNESHTORGBANK	50 585	19 015	50 871	37,38
24	CAPITAL	50 480	24 410	50 480	48,35
25	GAZBANK	49 045	37 125	49 045	75,70
26	PROMEK-BANK	48 435	47 967	48 435	99,03
27	AK BARS	46 214	39 758	46 214	86,03
28	RUSS-BANK	40 440	24 304	41 476	58,60
29	SOYUZ	39 768	38 770	39 777	97,47
30	INDUSTRIAL AND CONSTRUCTION BANK	38 331	26 580	38 346	69,32
31	MENATEP SPB	36 517	8 405	36 518	23,02
32	PROMTORGBANK	34 639	22 532	36 464	61,79
33	UNIASTRUM BANK	35 983	23 007	36 049	63,82
34	POVOLZHSKOE OVK	34 381	29 423	34 381	85,58
35	GUTA-BANK	34 089	23 308	34 094	68,36
36	CHELINDBANK	33 639	31 550	33 639	93,79
37	CITIBANK	31 043	18 342	31 413	58,39
38	URAL TREASURES BANK	31 034	29 807	31 034	96,05
39	ALFA-BANK	30 884	10 953	31 004	35,33
40	DELTABANK	29 721	1 914	29 801	5,42
41	FORA-BANK	28 640	6 157	29 323	21,00
42	AUTOMOBILE BANKING HOUSE	29 296	29 201	29 296	99,67
43	INVESTSBERBANK	27 543	20 882	27 549	75,80
44	SEVERNAYA KAZNA	27 327	15 834	27 327	57,94
45	EXPOBANK	26 911	15 599	27 160	57,43
46	ROSSIYSKY KAPITAL	26 117	10 759	26 672	40,34
47	MOSCOMPRIVATBANK	26 106	22 100	26 513	83,36
48	PETROKOMMERZ	25 934	20 003	25 936	77,13
49	PROMSVYAZBANK	23 538	20 399	23 717	86,01
50	EXTROBANK	22 589	4 886	22 789	21,44

* - all data - 1H 2004