UBDP changes name to BG Bank
Kyiv, December 3 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The Universal Bank for Development and Partnership (UBDP), controlled by Bank of Georgia, has changed its name as BG Bank, according to the Web site of the bank. "OJSC UBDP was renamed as OJSC BG Bank. BG Bank is the successor of all rights and obligations of UBDP," the statement reads. The National Bank of Ukraine has officially registered the new name of the bank. The Universal Bank for Development and Partnership was registered in 1994. Its major shareholder as of October 1, 2008, was Bank of Georgia (98.7673%). According to the National Bank of Ukraine, as of October 1, 2008, in terms of total assets (UAH 1.127 billion) the bank ranked 68th among the 181 banks operating in Ukraine. Further hryvnia devaluation would significantly increase bad credit, expert says Kyiv, December 9 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Further falls in the value of the hryvnia would significantly increase the level of bad credit, which even now is around 35-40% of the consolidated credit portfolio of the banking system, BG Bank (Kyiv, part of BOG Group) President Kostiantyn Poloskov said at a press conference at the Interfax-Ukraine news agency on Tuesday. "At the current exchange rate, 35-40% [of credits] would be non-performing credits. If it increases then this amount may soar to 70-80% of the portfolio," he said. According to him, major difficulties have appeared with car credits, mortgages and investment credits. At the same time, there is no functioning real estate market, which makes it difficult to establish the actual value of real estate. The most difficult period for credit-financial institutions, Poloskov said, would be in Q1, 2009: as the crisis is yet to hit the bottom. Bears Food Ingredients in row with BG Bank on delay in payments Kyiv, December 9 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The group of companies in the Bears Food Ingredients Concern has submitted an appeal to court on a delay in payments by BG Bank (both based in Kyiv), the concern's press service has reported. "Ukrainian companies have started opposing the willfulness of the banks during the period of the financial crisis. A group of companies of the Bears Food Ingredients Concern, which is one of the largest food additives and semi-products producers in Ukraine, today submitted an appeal to Kyiv Economic Court against BG Bank, which has illegally delayed the company's payments," reads the concern's press release, which was also sent to Interfax-Ukraine. According to the release, the claimed sum is around UAH 2 million. The concern said that on November 27 and November 28, BG Bank did not fulfill payment orders on all companies of the group worth over UAH 1.2 million, and BMB Compound and BMB Margarine were not able to buy raw materials, forcing them to suspended operations during the peak demand period ahead of the New Year holidays. "Bears Food Ingredients believes that the bank is trying to make the company illegally change the schedule of payments on a credit line worth over $6 million. BG Bank insists that a major part of the credit should be paid in 2009, while these payments are foreseen only in 2010. There is no a clause in the credit agreement that permits the bank to change payment schedule unilaterally," reads the release. The president of the concern, Dmytro Berezovsky, said that early return of borrowed funds would lead to stoppages at the companies, as well as cuts in jobs and payments to the budget. "It's psychologically difficult to resist the banks, and they profit from this, proposing unfavorable conditions, delaying payments and misusing their powers. We want to show that one can fight the willfulness of the banks," reads the release, citing Berezovsky. The board chairman of BG Bank, Kostiantyn Poloskov, told Interfax-Ukraine that the row concerns the non-fulfillment of payments due to a cut in the limit of the overdraft for the concern. He said that the agreement signed with Bears Food Ingredients foresaw the retaining of a certain size of funds on accounts of the bank. He said this condition had not been not fulfilled. "We met with the group in October. The issue of their transferal of funds to other banks was discussed. I told them that everything was OK, but that we'd cut the overdrafts given to them," he said. The banker said that concern's representatives agreed to return funds to BG Bank, although they did not do this, which was the reason for cutting the limits. He said that despite the crisis, BG Bank fulfills all its commitments for its clients day to day. BG Bank was established in 1994. As of October 2008, the largest shareholder in the bank was Bank of Georgia (98.7673%). According to the National Bank of Ukraine, as of October 1, 2008, the bank ranked 68th among 181 operating Ukrainian banks in terms of total assets (UAH 1.127 billion).