On 29 March a
general meeting of shareholders of the commercial bank BPS-Sberbank (ОАО
«БПС-Сбербанк») decided that the bank would distribute to shareholders a total
of BYR 19.87 bln in dividends, or 2.74% of the BYR 724.3 bln in profit that the
bank earned in 2012. BPS-Sberbank is
owned 97.91% by Russia
The bank’s 2012 net
profit of BYR 724.3 bln (€ 63.87 mln) represented a 268% increase over the net
profit of BYR 270.2 bln earned in 2011. (As of 31 Dec. 2012 one euro equaled 11,340 Belarusian rubles (BYR).)
As of 30 September 2012 the bank was ranked third
among Belarus
Sources:
БПС-Сбербанк
по итогам работы за 2012 год направит на выплату дивидендов Br19,87 млрд.
(2013-03-29 14:17 )
Shareholder structure: Годовой
отчет за 2011 год
In other news, on
27 March a mission from the International Monetary Fund concluded a visit to Belarus Minsk
“Following a
successful stabilization of the Belarus economy in early 2012, achieved by an
impressive concerted tightening following the 2011 crisis, a subsequent rapid
loosening of policies led to renewed volatility in the second half of the year,
necessitating another policy reversal in the fall.
“The authorities should avoid a repeat of the stop-go
policy pattern of 2012 and pursue predictable and consistent macroeconomic
policies that promote stability. The policies of the government and the central
bank should be closely coordinated and squarely focused on further reducing
inflation and containing external imbalances. This is even more important as a
deteriorating balance of payments and high external debt service pose
challenges.
“Against this backdrop, the mission commends the
government’s balanced budget target for 2013, but more is needed to ensure an
appropriate stance of fiscal policies. In particular, the government should
build on the reduction of directed and subsidized lending achieved in 2012, and
aim for a sharp further reduction of such lending in 2013. It is also key to
limit wage growth to help contain demand and restore competitiveness after last
year’s high wage increases reversed much of the competitiveness gains from the
2011 devaluation. The mission advises that 2013 wage growth is kept at 12
percent, in line with the inflation target.
“On monetary policy, we recommend that the central bank
stand ready to raise policy rates if the welcome reduction in inflation in
February is not sustained over the next few months. Increases will also be
needed if directed lending or wage policies adjust insufficiently or if
exchange rate pressures reemerge. The flexible exchange rate policy should be
continued. A close eye should be kept on rapid foreign currency lending growth,
which poses increasing prudential risks. The central bank should consider
further measures to curb this growth and the appropriate prohibition of foreign
currency lending to households should be maintained.
“Deep structural reform remains critical to achieving
higher sustainable growth. The government has made progress in some areas,
including tax reform and the new bankruptcy law, but this has been offset by
backward steps in other areas such as price liberalization and privatization.
Therefore, a comprehensive, consistent and ambitious reform agenda is needed.
“Price liberalization, strengthening of property rights,
privatization, state-owned enterprise restructuring, and establishment of
targeted social benefits to protect the most vulnerable, remain key reform
priorities. In this context, provisions in the draft new privatization law that
aim to continue state interference in privatized companies risk undermining the
benefits of privatization and should be reconsidered. Financial sector reform
is also essential and a concentration of directed lending in the Development
Bank would allow other banks to operate on market terms, ensuring that credit
goes to the most viable enterprises and sectors.
“The IMF will maintain close cooperation with Belarus,
including through intensive policy consultation and technical assistance.
Negotiations on a new program continue to require a credible commitment at the
highest level to a comprehensive policy package that could garner sufficient
support among the IMF membership. Such a package would need to include
consistent macroeconomic policies that safeguard stability, and concrete steps
toward deep structural reform.”
Source:
Mark Pleas
[contact]
