Monitoring Desk
MOSCOW: Dmitry Ananyev, head and co-owner of Promsvyazbank (PSB) which was taken over by the central bank in mid-December, has left Russia, he told Vedomosti newspaper in an interview.
The central bank decided to take over PSB, Russia’s 10th largest lender by assets, in mid-December. It later said the bailout, the third big takeover since late August, could cost 100 billion to 200 billion roubles ($1.7 billion-$3.4 billion).
Ananyev told Vedomosti via Skype that he left Russia last week. “I had long planned to leave for the New Year, left on Dec 22. And under the pressure of the last four months, unlimited work and a nerve-racking time, heart problems have appeared,” he said.
He said he planned to do a medical check both in Russia and abroad. “But I do not agree how it was presented in media, like I ran away. I did not run away.” Ananyev did not disclose his whereabouts.
The central bank said it asked PSB to set aside additional provisions after checking its balance sheet, which hit the bank’s capital.
Ananyev told Vedomosti the request sounded like an ultimatum: “To set aside unbearable provisions in a three-day period.”
“I had a clear understanding that the bank had time until at least the middle of next year, but in the optimum scenario the whole of next year to show a profit and results we promised, month-by-month,” Ananyev said.
“The provisions which appeared after the (central bank) check we could have covered with the bank’s profit. There was no need to take such a harsh decision.”
Ananyev owns PSB together with his brother Alexei. Earlier this year, the central bank took over Otkritie and B&N banks, citing weak balance sheets.
On Friday, the central bank said it found multiple law violations at PSB that it now planned to report to the law enforcement authorities.
