April 29, 2013.In 2013, the growth of Bank Svyaznoy’s loan book will slow down to 20% to 30% a year. This is a drop down from the previous 130% caused by the Central Bank’s regulatory measures, the bank’s majority shareholder Maxim Nogotkov said in his interview to Prime.

Credit cards issued to private individuals currently make up the better part of the loan book; however, Svyaznoy had to halt the issuance of cards for three months (from December to March) due to the Central Bank’s recommendations to stop attracting private individuals’ savings so actively: the regulator is always wary of an aggressive growth of a business, as this is usually accompanied by increased risks.

‘The Central Bank’s recommendations do not affect our current performance, but, combined with the expanded requirements on the reserves and capital adequacy these have already made an impact on our growth targets for the year 2013. This year, we’ll raise our retail loan book by 20% to 30%,’ Nogotkov said.