“VAB” Bank, the reviews of depositors about which has recently begun to appear with a negative connotation, is a universal credit and financial organization that has quite large foreign investments in its account. The main services of the organization are work with corporate clients and individuals, investment activities and international customer service, interbank operations. The history of the creation of the “VAB” bank goes back to 1992. In accordance with the rating classification of banks according to the NBU, the institution held the 1st place in the group of the largest financial institutions in the country. Branches of the financial organization worked in all corners of the state.
“VAB” bank, reviews of which you can meet both bad and good, supported a payment system of international level. These are VISA International, MasterCard and International. The powers of the bank included the payment of funds for pension programs.
What attracted to cooperation?
VAB Bank has always attracted the attention of investors, as it had an impeccable reputation. A large financial institution should not have gone bankrupt even in times of severe crisis. The size of the bank and the number of branches in Ukraine indicated that the system would not collapse. The enterprise acted as the backbone of the entire financial structure of the country, and its default in priority should have hit the economy. The most favorable dollar exchange rate has always been available within the bank. Clients were offered versatile financial services with a minimum cost. Separately, one can say about deposits, which against the background of other offers in the market looked very attractive. Over the entire nearly twenty-year history of the bank's existence, there have never been complaints from customers, both interest and deposits themselves were paid on time. This is all in a complex and provided confidence in a financial institution, attracted many investors to cooperation. What are the successfully experienced crises of 1998 and 2008?
What are the numbers talking about, or the latest positive statistics?
Despite the very good reputation of the bank, the latest statistics indicate the presence of certain difficulties at a financial institution. According to statistics, the institution ranks first in the ranking of Ukrainian banks and is a member of the second group. The authorized capital of the institution "VAB" bank, reviews of which are not the best, is equivalent to 3,048,619 thousand hryvnias. Net interest income for the last reporting period, in accordance with the data provided by the bank, 475 543 thousand hryvnia. There is another interesting indicator that reflects the situation - profit for the reporting period, which is almost minus 50 thousand hryvnia. Compared to other indicators, the amount is not significant, but you should already think about the liquidity of a financial institution.
Where did the first problems begin?
For the first time, VAB depositors, whose branches worked throughout Ukraine, began to experience difficulties in paying deposits back in the spring of 2014. Moreover, the delay was not only in the aspect of the return of deposits, but also in the payment of interest on deposits. The bank management did not allow panic at that time and constantly focused on the fact that soon the financial institution will receive good refinancing, and all problems, temporary difficulties will be a thing of the distant past.
This statement was not a hoax, and at the beginning of the crisis, the financial institution did receive good funding due to the fact that Oleg Bakhmatyuk managed to negotiate with the new government. The bank management takes a decisive step and announces the issue of deposits in the amount of 1000 hryvnia per day. A considerable tranche ultimately disappears almost without a trace. There are suggestions that large financial assistance was spent on supporting the business of Bakhmatyuk and for maintaining the currency. Although it is simply impossible to prove these facts. In addition, the media has repeatedly written that it is on the money of the depositors of the VAB enterprise that the bank, the reviews of which scare the businessman, is building his agricultural business.
Let's return to the return of deposits. The established limit of 1000 hryvnia did not last long. With a set limit on hands, no one received this amount. In order not to scare away depositors by lowering the limits to 500, 300 hryvnias, managers acted very differently. In fact, real money was at the bank's cash desks no more than 1-2 times a week. Transfers to other accounts were closed. For premature termination of the contract, clients had to pay 10% of the deposit. And that was just the tip of the iceberg. All this jeopardized the reputation of the financial institution VAB Bank. The 2014 reviews were the first signals of the impending crisis.
What leads to suspicion: management misconduct
According to the latest information from the media, the owner of the shares of the VAB enterprise bank, the feedback of depositors about which is getting worse and worse every month, is Bakhmatyuk already known in Ukraine. Despite the fact that the owner of the shares denies any involvement in the bank, the facts suggest otherwise. As it was found out, the financial institution credits at the same time 4 companies owned by Bakhmatyuk: Rise Maksimko and Niva, Spetsagrarproekt and Agro Alfa. Moreover, the leadership of a financial institution is those close to the latter who spoke in the person of its representatives in a number of court hearings. An interesting fact is that loans issued to agricultural companies were provided at ridiculous interest, up to 16%, which is almost equivalent to deposit programs and does not cover the losses of a financial institution. In the press, there are more and more statements that the “VAB” bank, reviews of which are negative, was bought solely for the purpose of lending to the above-mentioned agricultural companies, and there was no question of a mutually beneficial partnership with private individuals and corporate clients. The illiterate policy of the new leadership has led to the fact that the feedback of depositors on the financial institution “VAB” leaves much to be desired.
Fraud in fraud: a history of problems
In addition to unlawful and unqualified actions by the new government of the financial institution VAB Bank, the fate of the enterprise was determined by financial frauds, which were repeatedly mentioned in the newspaper Vechernye Vesti.
Initially, information about strikes by cashiers who completely refused to carry out currency transactions that were not subject to the law upon the request of the leadership became available to the public. An unexpected inspection of the bank confirmed that operations exceeding $ 4 million were conducted within the institution. This is 10 times more than the currency was actually bought from individuals. Here we make a reservation that the rate of buying and selling American currency on the market at that time was one of the most attractive at the bank.
The fact that the purchase of foreign currency by an ordinary client in the amount of $ 100-200 was impossible to decorate the situation, as cashiers constantly talked about the lack of cash at the cash desk. The audit showed that every day in the department bought hundreds of thousands of dollars, and this is only in one hand. At the same time, payments were divided into several parts so as not to attract attention. Fake documents were used. All receipts were signed by the cashiers themselves. The total volume of operations during the day sometimes exceeded $ 2 million, which is reflected in the documents. The NBU was not able to establish how things are at the bank, since the volume of transactions did not coincide with the actual actions of the cashiers. In addition, the video recordings during the verification were not fully provided, and some tapes were also mounted. In this violation, the bank lost the confidence of the NBU and was at risk of losing a license. The frauds spoiled the reputation of establishing a VAB bank, and reviews began to appear very negative.
How do investors suffer?
The illiterate policy of the new leadership, which allows you to issue multi-million interest-free loans, negatively affects the bank's fulfillment of its obligations to investors, which are many. The business strategy, along with the distortion of reporting, affects the reputation. This explains the fact that the establishment of a VAB bank has recently negative feedback from depositors. According to customers who have had many years of cooperation with the latter and have never had any complaints, today there are some troubles. This is non-payment of deposits after their expiration dates. Particular difficulties are associated with dollar deposits. Attempts of a financial institution to eliminate difficulties by attracting the capital of foreign investors were unsuccessful, therefore, painful problems with deposits remained in limbo.
How is deposit withdrawal going, and is it done at all?
VAB Bank reviews speak systematically about the existence of problems at VAB. Investors not only cannot get their money on hand, they experience a number of inconveniences due to the lack of full cooperation. There are systematic reports of inoperability of online banking and the lack of the ability to make transfers. If the funds previously transferred to the card account from the deposit could be withdrawn at Atmosfera ATMs or by bank transfer in stores, today this option is not available. Clients do not even have the opportunity to transfer their savings from one account to another.
At the box office, there are systematically no money, and ATMs are empty. The management of “VAB” bank represented by Oleg Bakhmatyuk filed an appeal with the NBU to recapitalize the institution. Unfortunately, the request was refused, since the institution's activity policy has long been called into question. With the last hope, the investors stood in long lines at the beginning of 2015, which did not bring any result. The only hope for a refund is insurance fund payments, albeit partial.
Rallies and protests - extremes that investors go to
About VAB Bank; customer reviews over the past year are only negative. People in a panic are trying to regain their savings. After the introduction of a temporary amnesty by the NBU, the institution was declared insolvent. In society, the tense situation was not limited to negative reviews. People went to rallies, tried to personally communicate with the organization’s leadership, which, frankly, did not bring any results. There was even a story in Kiev, which was written in the local media when women took to the streets with posters calling for a return of funds and blocked the movement of cars on the streets of Kiev. Over the years of productive work of the bank, quite a lot of customers have accumulated, moreover, the former management of a financial institution has always built its work in such a way as to fulfill all its obligations to customers. The only thing that pleases investors today is the statement of Alexander Pisaru, who occupies the main post of the first deputy NBU. According to him, the relevant services today are taking all steps to withdraw VAB Bank (Ukraine) from the market and at the same time satisfy most of the claims of creditors.
Payments from the Guaranteed Deposits Fund: is it worth counting on a legal minimum?
After the provisional administration was introduced in VAB Bank in September 2014, the problems of which affected thousands of people across Ukraine, the Guaranteed Deposits Fund committed itself to pay about 200 thousand hryvnias to each depositor if the deposit size is equal to or more than the established standard . Payments were scheduled for the end of 2014, and it was during this period that queues began to be collected at the cash desks of still operating branches and at Ukrsotsbank branches. The bank’s clients, whose deposits attracted people a few years ago, were recorded on the lists to clarify the time of payment. The day after the visits, no money was paid.
The story went on day after day. People had to draw up cards and gradually receive payments on them. Information on the full complete fulfillment of obligations by the NBU by the Deposit Guarantee Fund has not yet been received. The situation remains tense today.
Whom Bakhmatyuk blames, or The situation through the eyes of a Ukrainian businessman
The situation in which the Bank "VAB" fell, hit the pocket of many residents of Ukraine. But the most interesting thing in the circumstances is that the main owner of the shares of the financial institution Bakhmatyuk does not admit his guilt. He imposes responsibility for what happened on the NBU. According to him, he proposed saving the situation by becoming an investor in the institution, planned to invest 3 billion hryvnias in the VAB Bank (Kiev) as a shareholder. The NBU promised to make additional capitalization in the amount of 4 billion hryvnias. However, at the last moment, the state refused to capitalize. The second attempt by a Ukrainian businessman to save the situation was the provision of subordinated debt to the bank for 10 years, but because of an affiliate investor portfolio, the offer was rejected. The reasons for such a decision of the NBU was the commission, which came to the bank with a check and recorded the fact of the presence of financial fraud. Even the experts could not evaluate the internal affairs of the bank in detail, given all the available statistical information. The media were inclined to believe that the inability to control the situation prompted the NBU to liquidate the country's largest bank.