Banks as a special type of entrepreneurial activity. Branches and remote service

On the current situation and prospects for the development of relations between banks and enterprises in Russia, the correspondent spoke with Svetlana Dubovitskaya, Leading Specialist of the Corporate Lending Department of CreditMax, and Ilnar Shaimardanov, Head of the Small Business Department at Societe Generale Vostok Bank (BSGV).

1. What services do banks provide to small businesses?

Svetlana Dubovitskaya: The services most often offered by banks for small businesses are, first of all, cash and settlement services, incl. placement of funds on deposit, lending, conversion operations (currency exchange), servicing export-import operations (including,) and operations with. Now there is a trend to offer small businesses services such as depositary services. It should also be noted that such services as customer consulting and Internet banking.

Does the BSGV have its own specific small business (SP) policy?

Ilnar Shaimardanov: BSGV provides small business clients with a full range of banking services, including lending, settlement and cash services, remote services, guarantee transactions, etc.

In particular, the Tandem service package is designed specifically for companies with an annual turnover of up to 310 million rubles. This product includes a set of basic banking services used daily by small businesses and individual entrepreneurs. Purchasing them in a complex at a better price, as well as receiving discounts on additional bank services, allows enterprises to reduce the cost of banking services while maintaining the most popular products. At the same time, the price of the package is fixed, payment is made once a month, which simplifies control over other bank expenses.

The basis of the Tandem package is settlement and cash services (opening and maintaining a current account through the Bank-Client Internet system), as well as all related services provided free of charge or at significant discounts. Discounts up to 25% are provided for issuing business cards, opening a second account, making electronic payments and other bank services.

The bank offers a 20% discount to individual entrepreneurs who simultaneously purchase the Tandem package for legal entities and the Prestige package for individuals. The Prestige package includes the issuance and maintenance of a Visa/MasterCard Gold premium segment plastic card, maintenance of a current account and two additional accounts, discounts on safe deposit box rentals, foreign travel insurance, etc. BSGV regards the small business sector as extremely promising and intends to expand segment of work with such clients.


2. What is the share of various banks in the sector of providing services to small businesses?

S.D. : There is no definite answer to this question. One can only say that, in general, the share of small and medium-sized businesses in most Russian banks is steadily growing.


3. What banking services, not currently provided by banks, do customers need?

I.Sh. : If we talk about the needs of individual entrepreneurs and small businesses, the greatest difficulty for them is the financing of start-up projects, in other words, from scratch. The current crisis situation does not allow banks to work in this field, since the level of uncertainty and, accordingly, the risk parameters in this segment are too high. By and large, financing such projects is quite risky even in stable times, so here banks and businesses need third-party support, expressed in the form of state guarantees, support for supra-market unions and organizations, etc.


4. Do banks have their own special policy towards small businesses (individual entrepreneurs), give examples?

S.D. : There are general criteria that guide the majority of Russian banks. So for lending, it must be an operating business with stable turnover, preferably with a positive credit history and liquid collateral. Approaches to the financial condition differ, i.e. a number of banks accept for consideration the management reporting of the enterprise; someone lends to organizations that started their activities 6 months ago, someone for at least a year. Also, a number of banks have a different approach to collateral for a loan: some banks are ready to consider a pledge of goods in circulation as collateral, others are more demanding in terms of collateral.

5. How is the volume of a client's financial activity assessed in the banking sector?

S.D. : The main task of the credit department of the bank is to analyze the economic activity of the borrowing enterprise. The most significant criteria in the analysis are indicators of account turnover, revenue and profit. An important role is played by the level of debt load of the enterprise by other banks, credit history and liquidity of collateral.


6. And if we talk, for example, about the timing of consideration of a loan application, how much time actually passes from the time the application was submitted by a small enterprise (individual entrepreneurs) to the issuance (months)?

S.D. A: Until a decision is made on loans for small businesses, as a rule, it takes from 7 to 10 days from the date of submission of a complete package of documents. Although a number of banks also declare shorter terms, most often the decision is made within the above-mentioned terms. After the decision is made, the term for receiving money depends on the registration of collateral for the loan. If the collateral is real estate, the term for registering a pledge of which takes about a month (for some objects - 1 week), then the term for issuing a loan is extended by the term for registering such real estate.

I.Sh. A: The actual term for consideration of an application for a loan in BSGV is 7 business days. Further decision depends on the borrower. Having bank approval in hand, he himself determines the time convenient for obtaining financing.


7. Under what security did banks issue loans this year?

S.D. : This year, as in other years, banks issued loans secured by liquid collateral, and as for the preferences for banks, this is a “hard” pledge (equipment, vehicles, real estate). On the security of goods in circulation, banks lend and lend reluctantly.

What was the most significant in issuing a loan to small businesses in your Bank this year?

I.Sh. : The financial position of the borrower, stability and prospects for the development of his business during the crisis period always come to the fore. A positive credit history of a potential borrower is also important. If the company did not pay on previously issued loans or had problems with the law, this is a good reason for refusing to finance.


8. What adjustments did the crisis make to the work of banks withsmall businessesAnd?

S.D. : First of all, this affected the reduction of terms and volumes of provided financing. Funding for new borrowers has been significantly reduced, rates have risen, the approach to risk assessment for projects has become tougher, the discount on collateral has increased, primarily for real estate, most banks have refused to issue loans without collateral.

I.Sh. : The sector of the bank's work with small businesses was practically not affected by the crisis. The fact is that we actively began to develop this area just in times of crisis instability. Therefore, BSGV did not have to change conditions or reduce the scope of work. Even in the most unfavorable periods for the market, BSGV was among the banks that really worked with small businesses and issued loans. As a result, we received new clients who needed debt financing and were able to get it from our bank, while many credit organizations left this sector.


9. In connection with the crisis, cases of non-payment of loans have also become more frequent. What is the return rate today? In which cases? How Banks solve this problem?

S.D. : To date, special methods of lending to small businesses have been developed and successfully applied, under which the level of delinquency does not exceed 5% of the loan portfolio. In banks operating under special small business lending programs, the default rate ranges from 2.5% to 4%. Compared to retail lending (lending to individuals), this is a very low percentage. Banks solve the problem of defaults primarily through negotiations with business representatives, incl. offer them the restructuring of loans, and, in rare cases, the sale of collateral in their favor.

I.Sh. : The default rate in the small business lending sector at the bank is actually approaching zero. This is due to the fact that MB companies resort to debt financing only if they have sufficiently stable positions and, in this regard, are confident in their abilities. In addition, BSGV pays great attention to the process of analyzing business indicators and selecting potential borrowers. All this in general gives the maximum percentage of returns when loan payments and debt service are not burdensome for borrowers.


10. What do you think are the prospects for banks to work with small businesses in the coming years?

S.D. : Lending to small businesses is promising. Small businesses have always used loans and will continue to use them. But the development of this area should still be supported by the state, for example, it would be relevant to create a system of 100% state security (in the form of a guarantee) for loans to small businesses.

I.Sh. : As mentioned above, BSGV regards the small business segment as extremely promising and profitable, capable of generating significant profits and new customers in the future. In this regard, the bank intends to actively develop this area, offering its clients from among small businesses and individual entrepreneurs, current programs and favorable conditions.

Academy of Economics and Entrepreneurship

Shlyk Vadim Viktorovich (216)

Essay on business law

on the topic:

"The history of the emergence and essence of entrepreneurship"

Checked by: Trofimov V.V.

Introduction…………………………………………………………………..3

1. The history of the emergence and development of entrepreneurship ...... 4

1.1. The history of entrepreneurship development……………………..4

1.2. The evolution of the term "entrepreneur" and "entrepreneurship"…………………………………………………...6

2. The concept, essence and types of entrepreneurship……………….9

2.1. The concept and essence of entrepreneurship…………………...9

2.2. Subjects and types of entrepreneurial activity…….11

Conclusion………………………………………………………………14

List of used literature…………………………………………………………………………15

Introduction.

In most countries of the world, entrepreneurship is a powerful engine of economic and social development. Without entrepreneurs, people's needs cannot be fully met. In addition, entrepreneurship performs managerial, organizational, market functions; forms the elements of creativity in the socio-economic life of society. Through entrepreneurship, innovations in trade, management, and information technology are implemented.

Any state is proud of the fruits of the activities of its entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurship as one of the specific forms of manifestation of social relations contributes not only to increasing the material and spiritual potential of society, not only creates a fertile ground for the practical implementation of the abilities and talents of each individual, but also leads to the unity of the state, the preservation of its national spirit and national pride.

The history of entrepreneurship and its essence is a topic that is very relevant and causes a lively scientific and public interest.

So what is entrepreneurship? How did it come about? I will try to answer these questions in this essay.

1. The history of the emergence and development of entrepreneurship.

1.1. The history of the development of entrepreneurship.

The history of entrepreneurship begins in the Middle Ages. Already at that time, merchants, merchants, artisans, missionaries were beginning entrepreneurs. The activity of the merchants was aimed at exploiting the existing discrepancies between supply and demand, and the source of their income was the difference in prices of goods moved from market to market. During this period, the functional content of entrepreneurship was limited to the use of emerging market disequilibria, and its dominant pretext was the association with a high degree of risk. With the rise of capitalism, the desire for wealth leads to the desire for unlimited profits. The actions of entrepreneurs are taking on a professional and civilized character. Often an entrepreneur, being the owner of the means of production, also works in his own factory, in his own factory.

From the middle of the 16th century, equity capital appeared, joint-stock companies were organized. The first stock campaigns arose in the field of international trade. The very first English trading company was founded to trade with Russia (1554). Later, in 1600, the English East India Trading Company was formed, and in 1670, the Hudson's Bay Campaign. In the future, the joint-stock form of management penetrates into other economies.

From the middle of the XVII century. the first joint-stock banks appear. So, in 1694, the Bank of England was founded on a joint-stock basis, in 1695 - the Bank of Scotland. At the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th centuries. the joint-stock form of the organization of banking is widely developed in many countries.

Entrepreneurship has existed in Russia since ancient times. It originated in Kievan Rus in the form of trade and crafts. Small merchants and merchants can be considered the first entrepreneurs in Russia. The greatest development of entrepreneurship refers to the years of the reign of Peter I (1689 - 1725). Manufactories are being created all over Russia, such industries as mining, weapons, cloth, and linen are rapidly developing. The most famous representative of the dynasty of industrial entrepreneurs at that time was the Demidov family, whose ancestor was a Tula merchant.

The further development of entrepreneurship was held back by the existence of serfdom. The reform of 1861 became a serious stimulus for the development of entrepreneurship. The construction of railways begins, heavy industry is reorganized, joint-stock activities are revived. Foreign capital contributes to the development and reorganization of industry. In the 90s of the 19th century, the industrial base of entrepreneurship was finally formed in Russia. In the 15th-first half of the 19th century, the process of formation of a national type of Russian entrepreneur was going on, the main features of which were patriotism and adherence to Orthodox values. At the beginning of the 20th century, entrepreneurship becomes a mass phenomenon in Russia. The process of monopolization of firms begins. Prodamet, Prodvelom, Produgol, partnerships of the Russian-American Manufactory, the Nobel brothers and others are known among large firms.

Unfortunately, in Russia after the end of the First World War and the completion of two revolutions - February and October - a course was taken to eliminate market economic ties.

Some revival in entrepreneurial activity was introduced by a new policy - the NEP (1921-1926). However, since the end of the 1920s, entrepreneurship has been curtailed again, and only in the 1990s did its resuscitation begin in Russia. In October 1990, the Law "On Property in the RSFSR" was adopted, in December 1990 - the Law "On Enterprise and Entrepreneurial Activity". From the moment when private property and entrepreneurial activity were restored in their rights, the development of joint-stock companies, partnerships and other forms of enterprise activity began.

At present, there are about 10,000 joint-stock enterprises and over 1,500 joint-stock commercial banks in Russia.

1.2. Evolution of the term "entrepreneur" and "entrepreneurship".

Entrepreneurship, like any kind of activity, must have a theoretical foundation that explains its essence. The concepts of "entrepreneur" and "entrepreneurship" in the modern sense were first used by an English economist of the late 17th - early 18th centuries. Richard cantillon. He expressed the opinion that an entrepreneur is a person acting in conditions of risk. R. Cantillon considered the source of wealth to be land and labor, which determine the real value of economic goods.

Later, the famous French economist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, J.B. Say (1767-1832) in the book "Treatise of Political Economy" (1803) formulated the definition of entrepreneurial activity as a combination, a combination of three classical factors of production - land, capital, labor. Say's main thesis is to recognize the active role of entrepreneurs in creating a product. The entrepreneur's income is a reward for his work, the ability to organize the production and marketing of products, to ensure the "spirit of order".

The English scientist-economist A. Smith (1723-1790) in his main work "A Study on the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of the People" (1776) paid attention to the characteristics of the entrepreneur. An entrepreneur, according to A. Smith, being the owner of capital, takes risks in order to implement a certain commercial idea and make a profit.

D. Vekardo considered entrepreneurial activity as an obligatory element of effective management. The economic theory of K. Marx was based on the idea of ​​an entrepreneur as a capitalist-exploiter.

And only at the turn of the XIX-XX centuries. understanding of the importance and role of the institution of entrepreneurship begins. The French economist Henre Marshal (1907-1968) was the first to add to the above three classical factors of production (land, capital, labor) a fourth factor - organization. Since that time, the concept of entrepreneurship has been expanding, as well as the functions transferred to it.

The American economist J.B. Clark (1847-1938) somewhat modified Say's "triune formula". In his opinion, four factors are constantly involved in the production process:

1) capital;

2) capital goods - means of production and land;

3) activities of an entrepreneur;

4) worker's labor.

Friedrich von Heyen (1899-1984) took a fresh look at this problem. In his opinion, the essence of entrepreneurship is the search and study of new economic opportunities, a characteristic of the field of activity, and not the type of activity.

Closely related to the concept of "entrepreneur" is the concept of "entrepreneurship". As for the understanding of the term itself, two approaches can be distinguished here:

1st approach, focusing on the entrepreneur and his activities to the specific conditions of the external environment, perceived by the researcher as an objective and time-invariant factor (linear equilibrium approach, based on the closedness of the system "entrepreneur / enterprise - environment for its development");

2nd approach, emphasizing the interdependence of the entrepreneur / enterprise and its environment of its activity (interactive, non-linear, non-equilibrium or synergistic approach, based on the openness of the “entrepreneur / enterprise-environment of its development” system).

Our guest is two experts from Promsvyazbank: Alexander Chernoshchekin, Senior Vice President, and Kirill Tikhonov, Vice President, Managing Director, Small Business Development Director.

Only one visit

Ilya Rostovtsev, AiF: Alexander Vladimirovich, is a small business a convenient client for a large bank?

Alexander Chernoshchekin: I don't see any barriers. In our bank, this direction belongs to one of the leading roles, and there is a long-standing interest in it. After all, a small business has a “bank-client” scheme that works every day. For him, the bank is both a clearing house, and a consultant, and a creditor, and an expert. Checking counterparties, accounting - everything is in the entrepreneur's computer. In other words, the bank is not just a settlement organization, but a partner with whom the entrepreneur communicates daily. Therefore, the relationship here is built differently.

- How?

We try not to burden the client with unnecessary worries - it is enough to visit us once. We have a minimum of bureaucracy, reasonable rates, the ability to take a loan. The small business segment is an excellent testing ground for IT and other innovations, we try to apply breakthrough technologies as well. The client is qualified, financially literate, he is open to new proposals. And if there are some difficulties, it is only more interesting to look for a way out.

- You have a lot of clients from this segment. How many employees are required to serve them?

Do not think that the army. We need competent technologies and the right organization. Small business, by the way, is heterogeneous: in terms of the scale of the business, in terms of its activity, in terms of industries, etc. Specific people are assigned to each group. Someone has clients with large turnovers, someone has a more modest one. Each manager chooses the most effective form of communication, because the key link in the chain is a person. A bank is primarily a service structure, and its essence is in communicating with living people, albeit in financial language, and using certain technologies.

What tomorrow?

To start a business, as you know, you need at least initial investments. But where to get them if banks do not give loans, especially at the initial stage? After all, not everyone has a deposit ...

We still lend to an existing business, including without collateral, for example, under guarantees or through factoring - these are both trading operations and contracts. And in the "Program 6.5" we are, I think, the most active partner of SME Bank. If we talk about the initial stage, here we use the tools of our Investment Fund. Thanks to this fund, projects such as the construction of a network of children's pools, for example, can receive funding and even more - financial advice and mentoring support.

- Is the demand for loans growing today?

Indeed, they like to speculate that greedy banks refuse to lend to businesses. But that's not the problem, it's the demand for borrowed money. Entrepreneurial excitement and queues are not observed today. And this is understandable: consumer demand is narrowing, enterprises are not sure about the future. The situation of uncertainty does not inflame the appetite for investment. Nevertheless, a gradual revival in the lending market can still be observed, and we are ready to take an active part in it. Therefore, no bank can now bet on lending as the main source of income. But the task is the more difficult, the more interesting: how to find ways to expand his business together with the client in conditions when he is not ready to use borrowed funds. Together with entrepreneurs, we work to offer services that will help them to be both more successful and more sustainable.

Trade - transparent segment

Kirill Vladimirovich, what is the portrait of today's small business representative who has a chance to get a loan from you, and which entrepreneurs do you prefer?

Kirill Tikhonov: The client portrait depends on the segment: for example, in a microsegment, this is a small family business registered as an individual entrepreneur, where the owner, who is also the director, is actively involved in all processes without exception. It should be borne in mind that in our country about 65% of small businesses are traded. This proportion is also valid for bank customers. In second place are services, followed by production. Therefore, the trade sector is historically the most understandable for us: everything here is quite predictable and calculable.

- Do you work with start-ups?

As far as I know, any bank treats such clients with caution. We do not lend to startups in bulk, we work pointwise. We have an Investment Fund, which, among other things, specializes in projects with a high degree of risk that banks cannot afford under standard lending. The main task of the fund is to move away from classical approaches when considering a loan application and learn to see the prospects for business development. And we try - there are people who infect with their energy and enthusiasm. We are interested not only in financing, but in joint work with an entrepreneur. It's about mentoring with the involvement of business gurus and experts who have a lot to learn - their advice to beginners is simply priceless.

- And what services in the banking sector are the most popular now?

In the first place, of course, is the current account, without which business today practically cannot work: 70-80% of transactions are carried out in a non-cash form. By the way, opening an account with us can be combined with registering a company - two in one. A modern current account is a choice of tariff plans and many additional options: payroll projects, cards for withdrawing and depositing cash, etc. Our approach is as follows: we take care of the whole routine, for example, checking counterparties, which allows the entrepreneur business, without being distracted by “paperwork”. Today, for an entrepreneur, Internet banking is the main working tool, the whole life of his business is there. Therefore, we place special emphasis on the development of remote technologies.

What factors influence a bank's decision to lower or raise interest rates for a particular borrower?

We use the so-called risk-based model in our work. Potential borrowers at the stage of financial analysis are divided into groups: with a low, medium and higher risk level (like a traffic light: green - yellow - red). In accordance with this, interest rates are offered, because it is no secret that the risk fee is also included in the rate. The scheme works just like accident-free driving for insurers: low risk, low fare. In the process of cooperation, the client, of course, can “repaint” - both in one direction and in the other.

client on a horse

Your bank is a member of the "Program 6.5", which is co-financed by the state. What are its benefits for entrepreneurs?

The most important advantage is the low interest rate. Today, for small and medium-sized businesses, it is about 9.6%, Promsvyazbank's preferential interest rate on individual loans under the 6.5 Program is even lower. But you need to know that the program is designed to support priority sectors in the manufacturing sector. Here, a high input rate can simply kill the entire project. In my opinion, the program is very correct and timely. And it is positive that a decision was made to reduce the minimum threshold amount from 50 million rubles to 10 million, i.e., there has been a turn towards small business.

- A new year is approaching - 2017. What are your forecasts in the banking sector?

My outlook is positive in terms of lending. Everyone understands that inflated interest rates are a drag. Business needs digestible rates. I think that next year the rates will continue a reasonable downward correction. The activity of the state in solving the problems of small businesses, including the problem of lending, is very positive. I attach great importance to guarantee funds. For many entrepreneurs, this is an opportunity to get a partially secured loan. The market, including the banking one, is slowly starting to come out of its stupor. And since the ice has broken, we expect more competition for lending. In general, entrepreneurs will be the beneficiaries.

The study of banking and the content of services provided by banks - as business entities - to their customers, we will start using the institutional classification of financial services.

A modern bank is primarily a financial institution that performs various functions that can be divided into three groups. first group form special functions, they include the implementation of activities inherent only to banks. This is the issue of banknotes, the conduct of cash settlements between participants in any transactions in a non-cash form.

In second group includes functions, the implementation of which is characteristic primarily for banks. Among these functions should include the conduct of credit operations, the organization of deposit storage of temporarily free financial resources, the implementation of trade transactions with foreign currency.

TO third group include functions, the performance of which is not a special prerogative (exclusive authority) of banks. This, for example, is the conduct of any trust (trust) operations, investment mediation, leasing, factoring, consulting, expert and other activities, which, along with banks, can be performed by other business firms, universal and specialized.

When creating a new bank, it is advisable to understand in advance how diverse the functions of this business entity can be, and, therefore, how intense the efforts of its owners should be to provide the bank with significant competitive advantages in the process of performing each of the listed functions. One should also remember one of the precepts of Baron Rothschild, a famous financial figure in the past, who said that it is easy to create a bank, and even easier to lose it.

The emergence of banking is rooted in hoary antiquity, namely, during the period of decomposition of primitive society, when usury appeared in the bowels of the states of the Ancient World. Slave owners in need of financial resources - the historical forerunners of modern entrepreneurs in the manufacturing and commercial sectors of the economy - turned to those who could provide temporary loans in kind in grain or other products, and subsequently cash loans (credits).

The niches of the financial market could not remain empty for long. Those who needed financial resources received them in the form of loans (credit funds). In turn, the owners of temporarily free financial resources got the opportunity to earn extra money on them. Sellers of financial resources began to be called creditors , buyers of financial resources - borrowers .

If the holders of free financial resources independently found counterparties with whom they could conclude a loan deal, they did without additional intermediaries. Such a direct transaction was called in the past commercial loan .

Thus, merchants of the slave-owning era and medieval Italy, France, Germany, and other countries willingly sold goods to each other on credit, and for long periods of time. In the trading book of the famous Hamburg merchant of the XIV century, Vico van Geldersen, credit obligations were listed for a period of one month to one and a half years. This duration was due to the long terms of the implementation of trade, due to the imperfection of the transport infrastructure of the commodity economy of that time.

The most common instrument of commercial credit has become commodity bill of exchange - a written obligation giving the right to its owner to unquestionably demand from the person who issued it or accepted it, the payment of money after its expiration .

At the same time, credit transactions could also be concluded indirectly, which eventually became a typical phenomenon for credit transactions. The provision of financial resources on credit by specialized financial intermediaries is called bank (or banker's) loan .

Intermediaries between the two categories of business entities - suppliers and consumers of temporarily free financial resources - were moneylenders, representatives of the third category of business entities, which it is quite appropriate to consider, along with the so-called money changers, the historical predecessors of modern bankers. These pre-bankers were, as a rule, highly respected people and, with rare exceptions, were part of the elite of society. Roman law, for example, carefully guarded the interests of usurers and severely punished insolvent debtors.

History is silent about exactly when banks arose. Most likely, the first banks appeared in the 14th-15th centuries AD, when manufacturing production became widespread in industries, and, consequently, the need for credit operations became constant.

In early April, Regional Credit Bank will officially become Modulbank. According to the Unified State Register of Legal Entities, the bank has been renamed since March. On April 12, Modulbank will pass the final stage - it will be included in all IT systems of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation as a full-fledged bank. About what will change for the employees and clients of "Module" and "Regional Credit", how and why to create a bank only for small businesses in a crisis and why Tinkov is a muse, in his first interview after Modulbank acquired the status of a full-fledged credit organization, its founders told - Andrey PETROV, Yakov NOVIKOV and Oleg LAGUTA.

-How was the working relationship between Modulbank and Regional Credit Bank initially built?

Yakov Novikov: We launched our business - the Modulbank project - on the basis of Regional Credit Bank. We were a department of RegCredit, a trademark owned by the bank. This is our fundamental difference from Rocketbank, with which people often try to compare us. It was fundamentally important for us to be inside the bank, since such a model allows us to manage all the risks that exist. When you are an addition to the bank in the form of an LLC, for example, there is no way to influence the decisions that are made within the bank. And this means that, while developing your business, you cannot manage the risks of your clients in any way.

- Who were Modulbank's investors and do they stay with you now?

Ya. N.: Our first and main investor was the Regional Credit Bank represented by Artem Avetisyan (the main owner of the Regional Credit. - Note ed.). He had long been looking for an innovative business model that could be applied to his bank.

Oleg Laguta: In fact, there was an interesting story with investors. Initially, we met with representatives of the Tatfondbank group. They seemed to be interested in our project, we agreed on the next stages and went to prepare. A couple of weeks later we met with Artem Avetisyan. He liked our project so much that he asked to make small adjustments to our business model, and a week later we agreed on cooperation. When we launched the project, Tatfondbank returned and reminded us that he also wanted to be an investor. So we ended up with two investors. Thus, of the three investors we met, two immediately invested in the project. They will remain our investors in the future, if they themselves do not decide to withdraw from the project.

- From the very inception of the project, there was an idea that it would eventually "absorb" the Regional Credit Bank?

Ya. N.: We immediately agreed with the investor, entered into a formal agreement that as soon as the project reaches its target indicators, as a logical step, we will rename Regional Credit to Modulbank and completely re-profil it to work only with small businesses. As indicators, it was established that by the end of the second quarter of this year we should reach self-sufficiency. Now we see that we will achieve these indicators, so we decided to rename the bank and rebuild the business model in advance. Why did we decide to build a new bank on the basis of an existing one? This allowed us to significantly reduce investments and project launch time - Modulbank began work six months after our first meeting with investors.

- How much investment was invested in Modulbank at the initial stage?

O.L.: According to the plan, our investments amounted to 620 million rubles. Now, in just a couple of months, we will reach the payback point, thus saving 100 million rubles from the initial investments of our investors. We are starting to earn and do not need additional investments yet. I don't think we need them.

Oleg Laguta, Yakov Novikov, Andrey Petrov

- What will change after the reorganization of "Regional Credit" in Modulbank?

Ya. N.: There has been a recent name change. Over the past six months, we have completely abandoned all non-core activities. In this regard, people have a question why the bank's assets have halved. I answer: this is due to the fact that we refused to work with retail. Purposefully, since November last year, a campaign was carried out, in which the bulk of depositors transferred their deposits from us to our partner bank - Uniastrum Bank. Of the total number of depositors, we have 20-25% left.

The second important step we took was to decide for ourselves that we do not want to carry credit risks on our balance sheet. And ten times reduced the portfolio of loans to medium and large companies, which was in the "Regional Credit": from 5 billion to 500 million rubles. We offered large and medium-sized clients to get a loan from Uniastrum Bank. Someone transferred loans, some simply paid them off. For us, this is an important step, because one of the main risks that banks bear is related to the fact that loans may one day become unrecoverable. Accordingly, there will be losses that will “eat up” the entire capital of the bank. When you have no loans, there is no risk of bad debts.

Will the services offered by Modulbank as a "virtual" bank remain the same in Modulbank, which has become a credit institution?

Andrey Petrov: Yes. This is the opening of settlement accounts and cards for entrepreneurs, an Internet bank through which all operations are performed, as well as our partner programs - an accounting module, a module for legal support of transactions, a personal assistant. We are also thinking about launching a payroll project. We are changing the standard approaches to products on the market. Therefore, our salary project will not be the same as everyone else's.

- Will the new Modulbank work on two websites at once - modulbank.ru and bankrc.ru?

Ya. N.: From April 12 our main website will be www.modulbank.ru. The Regional Credit website will work until our founding documents change the website address to a new one. We will not sell the bankrc.ru domain - we will keep it as a keepsake.

From April, all customer contracts will be concluded with Modulbank, acting on the basis of license number 1927 (this is the license of Regional Credit Bank. - Ed.)?

Ya. N.: Yes, customers will no longer have questions about who serves them. With the renaming, we will reduce costs and make life easier for customers. Now all clients will have an account in Modulbank. Clients will no longer get confused about where they open an account and what a “Module” is.

Clients are not affected by the changes: bank details remain the same. The only thing that will change is the name. Officially, the name will change in the IT systems of the Central Bank in mid-April. We will inform our clients about this separately. The changes will not affect the receipt and sending of money: if the client sends you money using the old details, they will still reach you.

- Do you lay any amount for rebranding?

A.P.: And, in fact, it will not. You just need to change the landing and forms of seals. Regional Credit did not have an ATM network, over the past six months we have closed almost all retail offices, with the exception of one technical one in Siberia. It will be useful for us to complete relations with a small number of remaining depositors, since Regional Credit had the largest deposit portfolios in Siberia. At the end of March, the Regional Credit office in Moscow on the Arbat will be completely closed. In Kostroma (the city where Regional Credit was registered. - Editor's note) there will remain an office where accounting, personnel and part of IT services will be based.

- Do you basically have a branch network?

O. L.: At the end of December 2014 - beginning of January 2015, we opened two full-scale representative offices in Moscow and Novosibirsk. One such office occupies an area of ​​70 square meters without a heavy cash desk and armored units and costs about 10 million rubles. Also last year we opened 20 offices in the main cities with a million population. These are rooms in key business centers from 40 to 60 square meters, where our client managers sit. The launch of this format of offices costs us already 200-300 thousand rubles per outlet.

A.P.: We made our first offices in Moscow and Novosibirsk so expensive because there was a hypothesis that a new bank in the market had too low a trust factor. And, if you exist completely online, it is necessary that customers can come to touch the walls, stroke the ATM. And many clients really prefer to come to our office for the first and only time, and then communicate online. By the way, this is our feature - we do not come up with reasons to pull the client to our office in order to sell something to him, as is often done in the market. On the contrary, we strive to minimize his need to spend time on it. Even to open an account, a person does not have to come to us - our manager can drive to any place convenient for the client.

A.P.: We started from cities with a population of over a million. This year we plan to start working in cities with a population of 300-500 thousand people. From there, applications from customers are already coming in. For these cities, we have chosen the format of remote client managers. Now we decided that we need to make it even easier. We launch bank representatives in the cities who work “at home” or in co-working, with a laptop, tablet and printer. They do all the key work: they take signatures from clients on documents, check transactions for compliance with AML / CFT legislation, talk about the opportunities that Modulbank provides. Our managers quite often refuse meetings with clients if they understand that the client is “not real”. For example, if they see that in front of them is a fake CEO. These remote managers are part of our staff, and we ourselves train them.

In your opinion, it is necessary to concentrate only on one area of ​​business, and a universal bank cannot be profitable?

Ya. N.: Modulbank is now the only independent bank that works with small businesses. Why is specialization important? It is always much more effective than versatility. We focus on one segment and thanks to this we understand what the client needs much better than other banks. In our case, entrepreneurs. Narrow specialization helps us to better understand the needs of our customers and create more competitive products. The NPS index, which shows whether customers are ready to recommend your bank to friends, is many times higher for specialized online banks, such as Modulbank, than for universal classic ones. For classical banks, in most cases it is at a level near zero, and for direct banks it exceeds 30-40%.

The second very important point for specialization is that you do not bear the risks associated with other business areas. In a crisis, universal banks have a high probability that retail delinquency will increase, and as a result, the money that you wanted to invest in the development of a new online bank for small businesses will go to hiring collectors and trying to reduce delinquency.

The third point is that it is much more difficult to manage risks in several segments than in one.

- But you also clearly have risks ...

Ya. N.: When working with a small business, if you do not lend it, the main risk is associated with illegal money circulation - "cashing", transit companies. Today this is one of the main reasons for the revocation of licenses. If a bank has such clients, it creates a huge risk for everyone else who uses its services. We insure ourselves against such unreliable clients in several ways. The first filter is our rates. For those who are going to send money through our bank, this is simply unprofitable. Secondly, we refuse to open an account for many people. We have built our own complex risk assessment system - automatic verification takes place according to several hundred parameters, and it goes unnoticed by the client, literally in five minutes. We are integrated with a dozen sources of various information, our managers are well trained in customer analysis. By the way, we plan to sell our compliance solution outside. Now there are negotiations with five banks.

- What do you earn?

O.L.: In general, there are three sources of income in the banking settlement business market: commission, income from balance management and credit income. Each of them, as a rule, accounts for a third. Since we have chosen a non-credit model, we earn more than half from commissions, 35-40% from managing account balances, the rest will come from loan income.

Ya. N.: The money we have on our clients' accounts costs us somewhere between 2.5-3%. This means that we can place them, earning a profit for the bank. At the same time, we choose the most conservative strategies. Many times less risky than banks with expensive deposits of "physicists", banks that have to place funds at 17% in order to normally lend to customers. We don't need that rate. It is enough for us to place our money at 9-10% per annum and earn an additional 6-7% on balances.

- Who does Modulbank consider its main competitors?

Ya. N.: We often fall into the comparison group with Tochka, Alfa-Bank and Tinkoff Bank. But we do not consider them competitors. In fact, we compete primarily with traditional classic banks and a disgusting level of service.

- How many clients do you currently have, did they all come from Modulbank, and how will the client base grow?

O.L.: We now have 16,000 clients, all from the small business segment (we include companies with an annual turnover of up to 120 million rubles) and are attracted exclusively by Modulbank. By the end of the year we want to reach 50 thousand customers - not only due to the quality of services, but also due to our speed. So, you can open an account with us in less than an hour. In general, according to our estimates, in Russia there are about 2 million active entrepreneurs in small businesses, that is, the volume for development is large.

- Of these 16,000 clients, for what percentage did you become the first bank serving them as entrepreneurs?

O.L.: For almost half - for 44.7% of clients who came last year, our bank was the first. At the same time, we have client companies that have existed for more than ten years.

- Do you have an ATM network?

Ya. N.: Our two flagship offices in Moscow and Novosibirsk have our ATMs, but practice has shown that, in principle, customers do not need them. We do not spend money where it is inappropriate. Modulbank clients use ATMs of our partners. They can also deposit money into their account without commission through the UNIStream system.

- How will the number of employees change?

A.P.: Now we have about 500 employees from two banks - Regional Credit and Modulbank. Over the past two months, we have reduced the number of more than 100 people. Mainly due to the closure of retail outlets. This is in no way connected with a reduction in staff due to any crisis phenomena. We're just removing non-core features. Moreover, I will say that we now have about 50 vacancies open in completely different areas. By the way, our employees are not required to receive a salary on the cards of our bank - we consider this "wage slavery". They can choose any bank to transfer their salary. We believe that employees and customers should choose the best. For example, our clients are not required to use our bookkeeping. They can choose our accounting department, Elba, 1C or My Business - whatever they like best.

- Will you attract some top managers from the market to develop the project?

A.P.: We are top managers ourselves, why do we need more? (Smiling.)

Ya. N.: You know, we have the following approach. We are trying to grow our guys from the bank, to create top managers from them, whom others will try to lure away. We have people who started working as client managers a year and a half ago, and without banking experience. Now one of them runs the customer care service. In general, we have a principled position - not to hire former bank employees for the position of client managers. They don't fit in with our work habits.

A.P.: During the launch of the project two years ago, we could still look for someone in the team from the market. Now specialists from other banks will look to us mostly as a foreign link. Therefore, we do not look at the top positions on the market at all and prefer to grow our own shift on our own.

Ya. N.: It will be difficult for top bankers to adopt the culture of our bank and the speed of work that we are used to.

Now the three of you are the founders and co-owners of Modulbank as a legal entity. What positions will you take in the reformatted "Regional Credit" - the new Modulbank?

A.P.: We will have three chairmen of the board. (Laughs.)

Ya. N.: Seriously, one of us will become the chairman of the board, and the other two will become his deputies. Let's draw a straw. (Smiling.)

A.P.: I think we will appoint the chairman of the board who talks the most . (Laughs and points to Yakov Novikov, who spoke the most during the interview.)

- Will you be shareholders in the renewed bank?

Ya. N.: We will. But Artem Avetisyan was and will remain the majority shareholder.

- Do you think about IPO?

A.P.: And the market is bad.

Ya. N.: You know, initially, when we created Modulbank, we thought about an IPO. We thought that we would attract investors. Now there is no need for this. Why attract investments when there are enough of them? In addition, an IPO imposes a lot of restrictions on the company in terms of preparing various reports, and you begin to deal not with the client, but with the interaction with shareholders, your focus begins to shift.

A.P.: Everything depends on the moment. We are satisfied that the main shareholder Artem Avetisyan is now calling and is only interested in how many clients we have attracted. If he starts calling and asking what our share price is on the stock exchange, we will all start doing anything but clients.

Earlier you made it clear that the amount of assets for you will not play an important role. That is, there was Regional Credit, which was in the top 200 banks, will you stay in the same place?

O.L.: We'd better improve other indicators: return on equity, return on assets - here I think that at the end of the year we will take one of the leading positions.

- In your opinion, is there a chance for Rocketbank, Instabank to eventually become full-fledged banks?

A.P.: They used their chance - they stood under the big players.

Ya. N.: I don't think they have a goal of becoming full-fledged banks. The key goal of any newly formed business is to create a cool product for the client and make money for the shareholders. There is no longer a question of becoming a full-fledged bank. The problem is different - will Rocketbank's partnership with Otkritie make its business more efficient. I don't have specific numbers for Roketbank, but what I like about them is that they keep fat cats awake at the expense of good service and mobile bank "chips". As a result, the market is also changing.

Let's go back to the very beginning of your journey. all three of you-top managers from Sberbank. How did you meet and decide to make Modulbank?

Ya. N.: We started working together at Uralsib Bank. But there we practically did not know each other, and we began to work closely together already at Sberbank. Andrey was in charge of all small businesses, I was responsible for loan products for small businesses, and Oleg was responsible for the strategy of the entire corporate block, from microbusiness to the segment that serves Sberbank CIB.

By the way, German Gref also played a role in our formation. When we came to him to defend a strategy for working with small businesses at Sberbank, the first question he asked us was: “Who are you - entrepreneurs or officials?” He didn't even ask our names. That's when we started thinking about how to really become entrepreneurs.

- Why was it decided to create Modulbank?

Ya. N.: When we were engaged in the small business segment, we realized that banks work with this segment disgustingly. The client feels like at a reception in a Soviet polyclinic, when you look into the office, and they say to you: “Sorry, it’s busy, take a ticket, take the queue.” There were practically no clients from the small business segment on the market who were satisfied with the way banks work with them.

- What is the reason for this?

Ya. N.: The segment is quite complex, it brings little income, but at the same time it requires good, well-developed competencies in IT and individual specialized products. And banks did not want to do anything specifically to develop this segment. They had products for large and medium-sized businesses, for example, an Internet bank - they gave it to “wear out” to small businesses.

A.P.: Actually there are two models. The first is when the bank thinks that since it has learned to work in retail, then small businessmen can be given approximately the same service model. It is standardized and not personalized. In other words - indifferent to each specific client. While small businesses consider themselves worthy of individual service, having different needs from each other.

The second is when the bank believes that it is strong in the corporate segment and its client base consists of the largest and most reliable clients. This means that you can go into a small business with the same model: an expensive client manager, processes in which the loan officer thinks for two months whether to give money. With this approach, it is impossible to make ends meet in business - the service model is very expensive, the average IP check is less, as well as profitability.

O.L.: Some "ply" between these two models. First, they try to work with small businesses, as with retail. It did not work out - they give it to the division responsible for large "corporations". In fact, the bank model for small businesses should be fundamentally different.

Ya. N.: The idea of ​​​​creating Modulbank came to us because of what we saw: due to poor service and ill-conceived products, entrepreneurs have a very big pain. And if there is pain, then there is an opportunity to build a good business. And here time does not play a big role - a business that allows you to solve an urgent need will be successful even in a crisis. In addition, only 50-70 banks throughout the country, according to our estimates, had a more or less clear strategy for work.

- Have you considered for yourself the possibility of launching any other business besides banking?

Ya. N.: To be honest, the bank was not our original idea. Rather, it was our third business idea. Initially, we wanted to launch online accounting and even started working in this direction: we created the first prototype of the product. There was also a desire to build an aggregator that helps companies attract leads. Regarding the creation of a bank, we understood that it would require large investments and it could take a long time to find an investor. It turned out to be completely different. At meetings with investors, it became clear that the first two ideas were perceived rather indifferently, and the reaction to the bank was very enthusiastic. An investor for Modulbank was found just a month after the start of the search.

Judging by the staff in your office, you don't have a dress code. Do you have any "chips" in terms of corporate culture?

Ya. N.: Well, it's not really about corporate culture, but one of our "negotiations" will be called "Tinkov".

Is this a tribute or a kind of joke?

Ya. N.: No, we just decided to name the “negotiation rooms” in honor of prominent entrepreneurs: Henry Ford, Jack Ma, Steve Jobs and Oleg Tinkov. In fact, I want to say that Oleg Yuryevich (Tinkov. - Approx. ed.) played an important role. What he did in retail banking really inspired us. And when we planned the timing of the launch of the project, we took the example of Tinkoff Bank - we tried to launch faster than he did. As a result, the account for the first client was opened three months later, and clients began to actively connect six months after the start of work on the Module.

Tinkov was a challenge for us, a muse in terms of the ambitions that he always set for himself and his team. His approach to business gave a lot to our project from the very beginning. Although on some issues we have completely different views. For example, you need to build a business for sale or not. For us, the second approach is closer.

- And how do you plan to inspire Modulbank?

Ya. N.: We have recently moved to a new large office. And now we have a few empty rooms. We are thinking about allowing several fintech companies to enter our territory for free. We could give them the opportunity to quickly integrate with our bank and work with real, live clients so they can test their hypotheses and save a little on rent. If you have readers with such projects, they can write to us on Facebook.