The president

Ilya Petrovich Chizhevsky was born in Leningrad (St. Petersburg) in 1978.

In 2000 he received a diploma from the St. Petersburg Institute of Precision Mechanics and Optics (Technical University). While studying at the University, he was an active member of the International Association of Students Studying Economics and Management (AIESEC). He began his career in St. Petersburg in the FMCG sector - Kraft Foods.

In 2003, he moved to work in the retail division of Citibank CJSC in Moscow, where he developed alternative sales channels and credit products. In 2006, he moved to GE Capital - working in Russia and abroad, he went from head of the Moscow region to Director of Sales and Distribution in Russia, responsible for the development of distribution and sales channels, alternative funding and attracting customers via the Internet. In October 2012, he moved to Rusfinance Bank LLC (Societe Generale) to the position of Deputy President of the bank, where he was responsible for sales, products and marketing in the bank.

In June 2013, he joined the OTP Bank team, where from August 2013 he held the position of Director of the Network Division. On June 9, 2014, he was appointed Deputy Chairman of the Board of OTP Bank. Ilya Chizhevsky’s area of ​​responsibility included the business of the classic branch network and alternative sales channels. In addition, he was responsible for working with the VIP segment, micro and small businesses, developing the Bank’s corporate business, and channels for remotely attracting and servicing the Bank’s clients.

Kapustin Sergey Nikolaevich

short biography

Sergei Nikolaevich Kapustin

Deputy Chairman of the Management Board, Member of the Management Board

Sergei Nikolaevich Kapustin was born in Moscow in 1979.

In 2001 he graduated from the Faculty of Mechanics and Mathematics of Moscow State University with a degree in Applied Mathematics. Has a PhD in Economics.

More than 15 years in the banking industry. He began his banking career in 2001 at Bank Vozrozhdenie, where he worked his way up from a leading specialist to Deputy Head of the Retail Operations Department, responsible for the Bank’s retail business and risk management.

In 2008, he moved to OTP Bank, where he took the position of Director of the Risk Assessment and Methodology Directorate. Oversaw issues related to credit risks for the Bank's retail portfolio, lending methodology, operational and market risks.

From 2011 to 2013 he worked in the field of microfinance.

Since 2013, he has been Deputy Chairman of the Board, Director of the Risk Management Division at OTP Bank.

Oreshkina Yulia Sergeevna

short biography

Yulia Sergeevna Oreshkina

Director of the Legal Support Directorate, Member of the Board

Yulia Sergeevna Oreshkina was born in Moscow in 1973.

In 1997 she graduated from the Moscow State Law Academy with a degree in jurisprudence.

She began her career in the prosecutor's office, then moved to work in the Legal Department of the Moscow Main Territorial Directorate of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation. Yulia Sergeevna Oreshkina also worked in various years in the legal services of a number of large Russian banks, in particular such as CB Petrocommerce, OJSC Impexbank and others.

Yulia Sergeevna Oreshkina has been working at OTP Bank (until 2008 – Investsberbank) since 2007, where she heads the legal support directorate.

Vasiliev Alexander Vasilievich

Deputy Chairman of the Management Board, Member of the Management Board

short biography

Alexander Vasilievich Vasiliev

Deputy Chairman of the Management Board, Member of the Management Board

Alexander Vasilievich Vasiliev was born in Akhtubinsk in 1978.

Graduated from Moscow State University. M.V. Lomonosov.

Works in the banking industry for more than 10 years.

From 2004 to 2010, he acted as deputy head of the retail operations department at Bank Vozrozhdenie OJSC, where he worked on projects for the development of credit products for individuals (consumer loans, car loans, mortgage lending), as well as for the implementation of automation systems for retail lending processes , such as Microsoft Dynamics CRM, Experian Strategy Manager.

In 2010, Mr. Vasiliev headed the credit risk department of the BCS Federal Group, where he participated in the launch of the personal lending business and in the creation of unified processes for assessing and managing credit risks. Since June 2011, he joined the OTP Bank team as Director of the Product and Technology Development Directorate. Since December 2013, he served as Director of the Consumer Lending Division.

Dremach Kirill Andreevich

Deputy Chairman of the Management Board, Member of the Management Board

short biography

Kirill Andreevich Dremach

Deputy Chairman of the Management Board, Member of the Management Board

Kirill Andreevich Dremach was born in Moscow in 1974.

In 1996 he graduated from the Moscow Institute of Economics and Statistics with a degree in Applied Mathematics.

More than 20 years in the banking industry. He began his banking career in 1996 at ZAO CB Citibank, progressing from a specialist to the Head of the Information Technology Department, and was responsible for the development of the information technology base, automation of business processes and financial management in the IT field.

In 2009, he went to work at Barclays Bank LLC as Director of the Information Technology Department, and in 2010 he was included in the bank’s Management Board.

From 2012 to 2016, he worked at JSC Citibank as the Head of Operational Banking Technologies in Central and Eastern Europe, responsible for the creation, maintenance and development of the bank’s high-tech information environment, and supervised the development and application of information systems and new banking products.

In November 2016, he joined the team of OTP Bank JSC as Director of the Operations Management Division. Since November 3, 2017, he has been Deputy Chairman of the Management Board, member of the Management Board of OTP Bank JSC.

Belomytsev Igor Yurievich

Deputy Chairman of the Management Board, Member of the Management Board

short biography

Igor Yurievich Belomytsev

Deputy Chairman of the Management Board, Member of the Management Board

Igor Yurievich Belomyttsev was born in Gorky (Nizhny Novgorod) in 1966.

In 1989, he received a diploma as an economist with a specialization in Foreign Economic Relations from the Budapest Karl Marx University of Economic Sciences. In 1993, Igor Yuryevich completed his master's degree at the Stockholm University of Economics.

More than 25 years in the banking industry. He began his banking career in 1990 in the Hungarian Mezobank, which was later merged with a large financial group in Central Europe - Erste Bank Group. Igor Yurievich was appointed Director of the Treasury Operations Division and was responsible for the development of ALM and management of the treasury activities of Erste Bank in Hungary, the development and implementation of business strategies in the field of treasury operations, and the initiation of the development of new investment products and strategies.

In 2001, he moved to Volksbank PJSC (Budapest) and headed the Treasury Division and the investment direction of the Bank.

In 2007, he joined the OTP Bank (Ukraine) team as Deputy Chairman of the Board, responsible for Treasury operations and asset and liability management, development of subsidiaries. Under the leadership of Igor Yuryevich, OTP Factoring, OTP Pension Fund, OTP Management Company and OTP Leasing were created and successfully developed.

In 2016, Igor Yuryevich moved to OTP Bank (Russia), where he took the position of Advisor to the President and was responsible for the development of Corporate Business and Treasury Operations. In February 2017, Igor was appointed Director of the Corporate Business and Treasury Operations Division. Igor successfully manages the development of strategies and new products in the business areas of these divisions.

On November 3, 2017, he was appointed Deputy Chairman of the Management Board, member of the Management Board of OTP Bank JSC.

On January 27, 2015, Gabor Burian-Kozma joined the team of the Finance Division of OTP Bank JSC as a Project Manager. He was involved in the development of plans for the preparation and implementation of the Bank's financial projects, took part in improving business planning and developing an effective strategic model for the development of OTP Group in Russia.

On December 1, 2015, Gabor was appointed Director of the Finance Division and took over the supervision of the financial block of OTP Bank (Russia) and management of the divisions responsible for the formation and strategic planning of the Bank’s financial policy, financial and accounting services, and divisions responsible for audits.

On June 6, 2018, he was appointed to the position of Deputy Chairman of the Management Board, member of the Management Board of OTP Bank JSC.

As part of my filling out this application form in electronic form on the Internet information and telecommunications network on the website of OTP Bank JSC (www.site) in order to consider the issue of providing me with financial services:

1. I agree to: 1.1) processing by JSC OTP Bank (125171, Moscow, Leningradskoye sh., 16A, building 1) (hereinafter referred to as the Bank), LLC MFK OTP Finance (127299, Moscow, st. .Clary Zetkin, 4A) (hereinafter referred to as the IFC) and the partners of the Bank/IFC (including those listed below) of my personal data (hereinafter referred to as the PDN), including those received from third parties, located in open sources and publicly available on the Internet Internet (last name, first name, patronymic; date and place of birth; address; telephone numbers; family, social, property status; education; profession; income; state of health; information on criminal/administrative liability; criminal record; biometric PDN; history visits to websites; any other data), including the exchange (reception/transfer) of personal data between the Bank/IFC and the Bank/IFC partners (including telecom operators; organizations that analyze data sets from the Internet), including PJSC Megafon (115035, Moscow, Kadashevskaya embankment, 30); PJSC "Vympel-Communications" (127083, Moscow, Vosmogo Marta St., 10, building 14); Mail.Ru LLC (125167, Moscow, Leningradsky pr., 39, building 79); LLC "Equifax Credit Services" (129090, Moscow, Kalanchevskaya st., 16, bldg. 1), CJSC "OKB" (115184, Moscow, Tverskaya-Yamskaya st. 1st, bldg. 2, bldg. 1) ; JSC "NBKI" (121069, Moscow, Skatertny per. 20, building 1); LLC "Double" (125040, Moscow, Yamskogo Polya street 3rd, building 28, office 2052) for the purposes of: a) concluding and executing agreements between me and the Bank/IFC; b) checking and clarifying the information provided by me; c) checking solvency and reliability; 1.2) the Bank/IFC makes decisions based solely on automated processing of my personal data; 1.3) receipt by the Bank/MFC of credit reports on my credit history for the purpose of checking reliability, as well as concluding and executing agreements with the Bank/MFC, and I also provide my credit history subject code ___________ (filled in if you want to create/replace the code); 1.4) telecom operators (including those mentioned above) - to provide the Bank/MFC with information about me as a subscriber and the communication services provided to me (including last name, first name, patronymic / nickname / other designation of the subscriber; address of the subscriber / installation / location of terminal equipment; subscriber numbers / other data identifying the subscriber / terminal equipment; information from payment systems for communication services, including connections, traffic, payments and other data allowing the identification of the subscriber or his subscriber device (except for information constituting a communication secret)); 1. 5) sending requests to the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation to receive an extract from my individual personal account.

2. Within the framework of the above agreements regarding PDN, the Bank/IFC and the partners of the Bank/IFC can carry out any actions (operations) with or without the use of automation tools, including collection, recording, systematization, accumulation, storage, clarification (updating, changing) , extraction, use, transfer (distribution, provision, access), depersonalization, blocking, deletion, destruction. PDN is processed on paper and electronic media, as well as using communication means. The consent is valid for 10 years from the date of signing this application form with an analogue of a handwritten signature (in the case of contracts - 10 years from the date of termination) and applies to all previously concluded contracts. Consent may be revoked by submitting a written application to the Bank/IFC and/or a partner of the Bank/IFC.

3. The client hereby, by signing the application form with an SMS code and sending it to the Bank/MFK through the Bank’s website, enters into an Agreement with the Bank/MFK on the use of an analogue of a handwritten signature (hereinafter referred to as the “Agreement”) on the following conditions:

• This Agreement provides for the client to use a simple electronic signature in the form of an SMS code received by the client to his mobile phone number (hereinafter referred to as the “ASP”) for the purpose of signing this application form;
• The Bank/IFC and the client (hereinafter referred to as the “Parties”) have agreed that this application form, signed by the client with an ASA (simple electronic signature), is recognized as an equivalent document on paper, signed with the client’s handwritten signature;
• The parties agreed that it is unacceptable to recognize an electronic document signed by an ASP as having no legal force solely on the basis that such an electronic document was not signed with one’s own hand, but using tools for the automatic creation and (or) automatic verification of an ASP in the information system Bank/IFC;
• creation and verification of HSA is carried out in accordance with the procedure established by the Bank/IFC;
• The parties are obliged to maintain the confidentiality of the TSA and are responsible for the consequences of failure to ensure such confidentiality.

Against the background of the decline of the retail market, personnel changes began in the management of monoliner banks. The Chairman of the Board of the Hungarian OTP Bank, Georgy Chesakov, is leaving his post on October 15; the shareholders have not yet found a replacement for him

Photo: Novoderezhkin Anton/TASS

​The fact that Chesakov is leaving OTP Bank was told to RBC by three sources close to the bank, and confirmed by the press service. The letter, which was sent to bank employees on September 22 (available to RBC), says that Chesakov is leaving the post of president of OTP Bank on October 15, 2015. “This decision was made by mutual agreement of the parties; it was caused by differences in the vision of the further development of the bank in Russia. From October 16, 2015, Yulia Oreshkina, a member of the board of OTP Bank, will temporarily serve as acting president,” the letter says.

An RBC source close to the bank says that the decision to resign was unexpected both for Chesakov himself and for the team. “The decision was made spontaneously, bank employees only learned about it on Tuesday, a temporary manager was appointed, but the shareholders have not yet found a real replacement for Chesakov,” says the source, adding that the reason for the departure could be complaints against him from Western shareholders. “They didn’t like that Georgy was unable to join the team, create a strong team, and he also did not do enough to develop the bank in the regions,” notes the source.

Another RBC source cites “insufficient speed of bank optimization and cost reduction during the crisis” as the reason for Chesakov’s departure. The bank has been showing losses since 2014. ​ If at the end of 2012 it earned a profit according to IFRS in the amount of 6.95 billion rubles, then in 2013 it decreased to 607.4 million rubles, at the end of 2014 the bank received a loss of 2.3 billion rubles, and in the first half of 2015 year, the loss has already amounted to 3.4 billion rubles. ​Since the beginning of the year, OTP Bank’s loan portfolio has decreased by 13%, and overdue payments have increased by 44% according to Russian reporting.

Chesakov told RBC that the bank has done a lot over the past year to overcome the effects of the crisis. “As a result, the bank’s results in recent months are significantly better than the forecasts made in the spring. Nevertheless, our views with the shareholders on the further development of the bank differed, which led to the adoption of a mutual decision,” he added.

Chesakov headed OTP Bank in the fall of 2013; from 2006 to 2011, he worked at Tinkoff Bank, including as chairman of the board. ​Chesakov’s track record includes work at Russian Standard Bank, McKinsey & Company, BP, and Rust. He studied mechanics and mathematics at Moscow State University, graduating with honors, after which he received a master's degree in computer science at Princeton University, and in the early 1990s he received an evening education in business and economics at the Russian-American Independent University.

Before Russian Standard, he worked for three years at Investsberbank, where he was responsible for the retail lending business. The same year that Chesakov left for Tinkoff Bank, Investsberbank was sold to the Hungarian OTP Bank.

OTP Bank ranks 45th in terms of assets (171 billion rubles), the controlling shareholder of the bank is the Hungarian OTP Bank.

In the first half of 2015, retail banks brought a fifth of the losses of the entire banking system based on the results of the first half of the year. The total loss for the system amounted to 256 billion rubles, and the loss of seven of the ten largest retail banks amounted to 49 billion rubles. According to the results of the first half of 2015, VTB24 had the largest loss among banks specializing in lending to individuals - 12.3 billion rubles. (compared to a profit of 10.5 billion rubles for the same period last year). It was followed by Home Credit with a loss of 9.5 billion rubles. Svyaznoy and Orient Express lost 6.3 billion each, Russian Standard - 5.6 billion, Renaissance Credit - 5.1 billion, OTP - 3.4 billion rubles.

The income of retail monoliners is falling for two main reasons: firstly, the Bank of Russia introduced a ceiling on consumer loan rates; secondly, the banks themselves, which are now less actively and more carefully expanding their portfolios, competing for a higher-quality borrower, are forced to reduce rates. At the same time, banks have to pay more for funding, and rising deposit rates undermine the business model of even players with acceptable levels of credit losses. Banks are actively cutting branches and staff, reducing the scale of business, but this does not cover the increase in funding costs.

12.05.2017

Interview with Ilya Chizhevsky, President of OTP Bank: OTP Bank can buy a credit organization larger than itself in the Russian Federation

The Russian OTP Bank, part of the Hungarian financial group OTP, is actively considering two options for investment in the Russian Federation: the takeover of another credit organization, or the purchase of a loan portfolio, bank president Ilya Chizhevsky said in an interview with RIA Novosti.

“The group views the Russian market as strategic. We believe that the investment potential of this market has not been exhausted. Therefore, we are considering options for acquiring banks. At the same time, we do not rule out the acquisition of portfolios on the market, because we now have a colossal reserve of liquidity and capital adequacy "We are open to these two directions and are working very intensively on this," Chizhevsky said.

The appetite of Hungarian shareholders for the Russian market, their willingness to invest in our country, according to him, is very significant.

“We do not exclude the possibility of acquiring a bank larger than ours. Depending on the size of the transaction, financing may be from our funds, if we are talking about the purchase of relatively small portfolios, from combined funds (our funds plus shareholders’ funds), or from only shareholders' funds," the bank's president said.

Recent regulatory changes, according to Chizhevsky, may create pressure on capital adequacy for a number of banks. Moreover, some upcoming changes may have an additional impact on them.

“In this situation, having the capital reserve that we have, we are ready to purchase portfolios from those credit institutions that, for one reason or another, are interested in selling them. These can be quite large portfolios,” he added.

OTP Bank, according to RIA Rating, ranked 54th among Russian credit institutions at the end of the first quarter with assets of 135.1 billion rubles. The Russian business of the OTP financial group also consists of the microfinance organization OTP Finance and the Touch Bank project.

The Russian business of the Hungarian OTP group (excluding the Touch Bank startup) showed a 2.2-fold increase in net profit in the first quarter of 2017, to 1.53 billion rubles, Chizhevsky said.

Net profit in the first quarter of last year amounted to 686 million rubles. However, starting from the second quarter of 2016, given the high volatility of the Russian market, which is difficult to predict, the subsidiary of the Hungarian group began to voluntarily and systematically contribute part of its profits to the risk buffer, which acts as a stabilization fund.

“We closed the first quarter with a net profit of 1.81 billion rubles before creating a risk buffer. Of this amount, we allocated about 350 million rubles to an additional buffer for possible market volatility (the final effect on net profit was 280 million rubles after tax - ed. .),” explained Chizhevsky.

The bank, according to him, will adhere to the policy of creating a “safety cushion” until the end of 2017. Then, together with OTP Bank shareholders, it will decide how appropriate it is to continue contributions to the risk buffer in 2018.

CREATION OF A UNIVERSAL BANK

OTP Bank, which has long specialized in consumer lending, in 2012 announced a change in its development strategy and a transition to a universal bank business model. This year, the credit institution's results in the corporate lending segment showed significant progress, despite the decline in the market as a whole.

“The corporate lending market was shrinking: in 2015 it amounted to 31.7 trillion rubles, and at the end of 2016 - 30.3 trillion rubles. If we look very carefully at what caused this, we will see that there was a drop in foreign currency lending by 28%, while there was a 4% increase in ruble lending, and some growth in factoring, which occupies a small share,” Chizhevsky drew attention to the general background.

In this context, OTP Bank was able to increase its assets in corporate business by 38% in 2016, if we sum up both on-balance sheet and off-balance sheet assets. In rubles, the credit institution achieved 24% growth in lending over the past year. In 2016, the bank also launched a new factoring line. The starting base for 2015 was small. However, in 2016 this business showed almost 14-fold growth. In the trade finance segment, OTP Bank was able to increase its portfolio over the past year from 7 to 12 billion rubles.

“By the end of this year, we plan growth in all components of corporate business, both in assets and liabilities. As for assets, despite the market dynamics that I described, we expect growth in both classical lending and off-balance sheet lending, factoring transactions,” said the president of OTP Bank.

20.06.2019

President of OTP Bank Ilya Chizhevsky: “I will ask my child the same question that we ask our clients”

OTP Bank, which is among the 50 largest banks in Russia, and in a number of areas among the market leaders, turned 25 years old this year. Inc. talked with the President of OTP Bank Ilya Chizhevsky and found out how the bank manages to achieve high profitability indicators, what areas it specializes in, as well as how he spends his leisure time and what the president of one of the largest credit organizations teaches his children.

OTP Bank is 25 years old, your Hungarian shareholder is 70. Name some of the most important moments in the history of the bank. What do you remember most?

For us, the starting point of a new life was 2006, when OTP Group acquired Investsberbank. Here I will make a short transition to the history of the Group, because 2008 did not pass us by. There was a difficult situation in Hungary, related primarily to foreign currency mortgage lending. I must say that the Group handled it very well and in a short time. This made it possible to continue business development both in Hungary and abroad, in subsidiary banks. For us, this meant allocating investments for product development and increasing distribution, which took place in 2012-2013. But, unfortunately, then the financial crisis began. The hardest times were in 2014 and the first half of 2015. Like all banks in our country, this was a time when we made difficult decisions. They concerned costs, a revision of our business approaches, and, to my regret, they also concerned personnel. But I am very glad that this time is behind us; since 2016 we have been very actively developing our business. It is pleasant to note that over the 25-year history of the bank in Russia, the last 2 years have been the best in terms of financial results.

If we talk about the Group, then in 2018-2019. it continued to actively develop and expand its presence in Central and Eastern Europe. During this time, 6 banks were acquired, and further negotiations are currently underway. Currently, OTP Group is present in 10 countries and is the largest and one of the most profitable financial groups in Central and Eastern Europe.

- How does a bank achieve high profitability indicators?

First of all, the interaction between internal departments was completely restructured. If at the time of my arrival at the bank in 2013, my colleagues on the board often interacted in the language of memos, now this is simply unimaginable. I believe that we have built an exemplary collaboration between business, finance and risks, where everyone is responsible for their part of the work with one goal - the development and growth of the bank’s performance. It is this structure and culture that I consider to be the key factor in our overall success. The return on capital of OTP Group's Russian business was 23% at the end of 2018 - this is one of the best results in Russia.

It will also be important to note that when making decisions we adhere to two very important principles.

First, we never prioritize short-term benefits over the long-term priorities of the organization's development. We want to work in the market for a long time and successfully and do not make such compromises.

Second, when making a business decision, we always evaluate it through the prism of numbers and financial analysis. We look at present value, lifetime value, which allow us to very clearly see the drivers and predict the financial effect of a particular decision. The combination of these factors, in addition to the business model itself, allows us to show such results.

- How do you calculate these long-term steps?

As I already said, we do not allow populist decisions to be made for the sake of some place in the ranking, to the detriment of profitability. We have many examples on the market, you don’t have to look far. When times get tough, we see banks that made business decisions that were not properly considered. For some, this resulted in the collapse of either the direction or the entire business as a whole. It is not difficult for us to become a leader in consumer lending. This can be done in 3 months, if we talk about the volume of issues, but the long-term financial consequences of such a decision will be extremely painful for the organization. We decided once and for all not to go this way. In a market that is short-term in terms of economic cycles, decisions cannot be made “at random.”

What areas does the bank focus on? Or an emphasis on versatility?

Historically, 77% of an organization’s income is related to lending. As part of the strategy that we have defined for ourselves for the next 3 years, we want to diversify our business model both in terms of sources of income and sources of attracting new customers. There are many prerequisites for such a decision, including the volatility of the country’s economy. Lending is becoming a rather sensitive area, and basing the attraction of new clients solely on it is quite risky.

- What other areas do you plan to develop?

We have 3 million active clients. For most of them, we have not previously offered settlement products related to everyday spending of their own funds.

Another example is working with highly profitable segments, such as affluent and private, which we have not previously actively developed. We want to take a closer look at the opportunities we have in these areas. Our bank has been operating in the Russian market for 25 years and is one of the few Western banks that remain active in our market and are considering opportunities to expand and develop their business. This is attractive to many clients.

As we enter new segments, we understand that the processes and products we have require improvements. If you make a high-quality product, convenient for the client, honest towards him, and build optimal processes, then there is no reason for you not to develop in this direction. There is no mystery or secret here.

It is probably difficult to come up with something new in banking - all banks have approximately the same products. What is your advantage over your competitors?

Here you need to understand which segments and which products we are talking about. If we talk about our advantages in consumer lending, then I will, of course, talk about the quality of decisions made and expertise. If we talk about corporate or small businesses, this is, first of all, reliability for our clients and work in an individual “boutique” format, with live dialogue, which is very convenient for our clients.

- We are a publication about small and medium-sized businesses: does the bank work with SMEs? What services does it offer to clients?

Historically, small and medium-sized businesses occupied an important place in the development of the bank; another question is that at some point the profitability of consumer lending was so prevalent that this area faded into the background in terms of development priorities. But in 2014 we returned to this issue, in 2015 we began to expand our activities in SMEs, formulating a new proposal for cash settlement services, supplementing it with new services, and in 2018 we launched lending, which historically had not been done before.

I saw interesting statistics in terms of opening accounts for legal entities. In our country, the number of legal entities is falling. At the same time, I am familiar with the plans of many banks, which set a goal within 3 years, if not doubling, then significantly increasing the number of legal entities that they service. It's one of two things. Either legal entities will begin to diversify more than now and open accounts in many banks, or many banks will be deceived in their expectations. Understanding this trend, we are looking for our niche and those who may be of interest. Those for whom the reliability of a Western bank, the service we can provide, and above all our flexibility will be an advantage. These are the types of clients we attract.

The bank does not compromise on the quality of the clients it attracts; we have quite strict control. We have obligations both to the bank's existing clients and to shareholders.

- How many legal entities does the bank serve today?

About 17 thousand active clients of small and medium-sized businesses. This figure is growing. We attract quite a lot of clients every month. At the same time, we focus on small and medium-sized businesses, not micro ones.

- What is this connected with?

Firstly, a large number of banks have focused specifically on the micro-segment, there is high competition there, and it is difficult to offer something special.

Secondly, clients who are looking for their service in micro are mainly focused on digital solutions, and there are banks that do this objectively well - again, it is difficult to compete. Thirdly, wages there are quite low.

- What are the advantages of your bank in the SME sector over other credit institutions?

They lie in an individual approach. For example, in lending we do not work on a factory principle; we have a live dialogue with SME clients. In most cases, this helps in terms of decision making.

- What goals and objectives do you set for yourself and the bank’s team for the next few years?

We have an understanding of what we want to do over the next 3 years, and there are 3 key priority areas within which we will develop.

The first is diversification. We are interested in receiving additional sources of income.

We will also launch a new direction or start thinking completely differently about those where we are already represented.

We never set ourselves the task of being pioneers in the field of digitalization. There are a lot of prerequisites for this, including those related to the segment in which we work. But we understand very well that digitalization is an opportunity to significantly optimize our internal processes and make customer interaction with us more convenient. Therefore this is our second priority. By the end of this year, we are completely changing our digital platform within the bank; this is a large-scale and important project for us.

And the third, most important area we identified is improving customer experience. Thanks to the results of work in this direction, we want to receive additional benefits and trust from our existing and potential clients. We have already launched a program that is reviewing both processes and products for interacting with customers. This becomes a key task for management and all bank employees.

- What are these processes and products?

First of all, those for which we have regular feedback from our clients. We also plan to work with focus groups, which will help gain more information about what customers like and what needs changes on our part. Through this dialogue, we will seek a balance between convenience for clients and the business objectives that we set for ourselves.

- What kind of feedback do you receive from clients now?

If you look at customer feedback from banks, for example on the Internet, you will see very few positive examples. This is a human characteristic - we are more willing to speak about negative experiences than about positive experiences, because we perceive positive experiences as the norm, which is natural and fair.

It is impossible to make all 3 million customers absolutely happy throughout the entire interaction, so, of course, there are requests. We restructured the direction of working with customer requests 3 years ago, and now we are pleased to say that 80% of customer requests through any channel are resolved within 5 days.

Working at such a pace, how do you manage to stay in good shape? Are there any ways to recover after work?

One thing that I recently discovered for myself, and I regret not discovering earlier, is that you need to be able to switch. It is necessary to give your head a break from work. If this is not done, efficiency decreases. For me these are 3 main things - music, theater and sports.

Do you organize some kind of leisure time for employees during the working day, so that they also have the opportunity to switch gears for a while?

Certainly. We are now finishing the reorganization of our infrastructure. We are located in the new head office, we moved into it on April 15th. There are a sufficient number of areas where employees can relax during the day. The task was to create a space where employees would feel comfortable, regardless of the time they come here. We have showers and parking for bicycles.

Next door to us there is another of our operational offices, which we refurbished for greater convenience and efficiency of the team’s work, and built an infrastructure there that is comfortable for work and rest.

Also, at the end of 2018, an operational office was built in Tver with an area of ​​5.5 thousand square meters. m. This 3-story building is definitely the best office in Tver, in which the space is organized so that colleagues can spend time at work conveniently and comfortably. By the end of 2019, 600 employees will work there.

All our new offices are equipped with spacious kitchen-dining rooms, comfortable meeting rooms, and collaboration areas. We installed special telephone booths in the central office so that employees could communicate on personal issues without distracting colleagues, and without experiencing discomfort themselves.

-Have you often had to make difficult choices in your life?

I had to, of course. At one time I moved from my hometown to Moscow. This was a very difficult decision for me. Friends helped make this happen, and thanks to them I never felt lonely or uncomfortable in Moscow.

- Do you travel often and what places do you usually choose to travel?

I counted that over the last year I have had more than 110 border crossing stamps in my passport; I travel often.

To relax and feel good, I need to go into nature. I'm not a big fan of megacities. I’ve been going to the taiga with a tent for 3 years in a row and spending a week in the wild. These are actually mini-expeditions, and that’s where I really relax.

The topic of financial literacy of the population does not lose its relevance. How do you teach your children about money?

Of course, finances are of great interest to children. My middle daughter last year, she was 9 years old at the time, asked me to tell her in detail how the bank works. I drew several diagrams and explained what cash flows are. My daughter folded these leaves and took them with her. I think she has some kind of plan.

The main thing I instill in them about money is that money comes from work. This forms a correct and responsible attitude towards money. My children have their own savings, I see how carefully they treat them, and this inspires respect in me.

What is your attitude towards loans, and how will you feel if one of your children wants to take out a loan in the future?

I will ask my child the exact same question we ask our clients. Do they know what they want to spend the money on, do they understand how they will cope with paying off their obligations.

-Have you ever had your own business? Have you ever thought about opening your own business in the future?

Of course there was. At the age of 13, at the Moskovskaya metro station, I very successfully sold ice cream during school holidays. Earned more than my parents' combined income.

At the moment I am a hired manager, but if I ever thought about business, it would be related to education. Raising three children, you understand the imperfections and limitations of the current system and at the same time see the opportunities that modern technologies and alternative approaches to education open up.