Alexander Metzger says liquidity crisis to play up productive banks

15 October 2007 (07:20)

«The current limitations on the chances of getting foreign resources has made Russian banks turn to domestic sources of financing once again», Management Company’s Investment Director Alexander Metzger said to UrBC.

«These are mainly classical bank deposits, and banks will have to compete fiercely here», he added.

Analysts say the global liquidity crisis keeps affecting the Russian economy, as Russian banks are having a hard time accessing foreign finances.

«This means interest rates on deposits are likely to go up somewhat, yet other non-interest-bearing advantages are going to play an important part as well. These advantages can be broadly divided in two categories. The first category comprises factors that let a bank reach out to a wide audience, such as a well-developed subsidiary network that would provide for geographic accessibility of the products offered. If this network is missing, banks can turn to the second category of advantages: they provide for the deeper penetration of the share of the market a bank can actually access. These can be effective advertising campaigns, a wide range of terms offered on procurement of loans, improving on the customer service, and so on. Banks that will be able to come up with ‘packages’ that will offer, say, a deposit and a number of other services like remote management all in one will probably be more successful on the market», Mr. Metzger observed.

«All this means that the liquidity crisis will actually play up the productive banks that will surely retain or even build up their shares of the market. Nevertheless, some banks might make some market takeover attempts through extremely high interest rates on deposits. However, this is something that needs to be addressed by people with their common sense, the banking community, and the Central Bank».


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