Mr. Medvedev instructs VEB’s Chairman to take issues of supporting small and medium-sized business under his personal control

Moscow. April 3. INTERFAX – Russian President Dmitry Medvedev instructed Vnesheconombank Chairman Vladimir Dmitriev to take issues of supporting small and medium-sized business under his personal control, which the Head of State believes to be an unprotected layer of business

At a meeting with V.Dmitriev at his country residence the Head of State stressed that ‘this is a theme of great importance”. “I would like you to deal with it on a regular basis and take this issue under your personal control”, said he.

The President described small and medium-sized business as “an unprotected layer of business”.

“Big business, given the current problems, can obtain a credit in a different manner, it has its own possibilities but small and medium-sized business confronts the crisis face-to-face”, said D.Dmitriev.

“We have to remember that wellbeing of millions of people is dependent on the activity of small production cells, small elements of our business as a whole and that’s why upon extending this kind of credits we should give top priority to social objectives we are setting ourselves”, stressed the President.

He asked V.Dmitriev, in particular, how easy it is for small and medium-sized businesses to obtain a credit and what sort of collateral is required for it.

VEB’s Chairman assured the President that the scheme to obtain credits has been maximally simplified.

“We have maximally simplified the system of going through all regional banks’ procedures for extending credits”, said V.Dmitriev.

According to him, buildings, small and medium-sized business facilities, transport means and other pledge mechanisms can serve as collateral.

“We have agreed upon a practice of not only submitting but also buying out homogeneous portfolios related to the small and medium-sized business sector”, said V.Dmitriev.

“We are now improving the system under which these portfolios could be submitted to the Central Bank as security against additional ruble financing”, he added.

VEB’s chairman said that the new scheme had been approved by the Bank’s Supervisory Board.

“The scheme would make it possible to rescue a great number of small businesses, which will receive assistance not from those banks where they obtained credits earlier but through your system provided that a portfolio was purchased by VEB”, stressed V.Medvedev.

Being aware that small and medium-sized business is highly instrumental in socio-economic development, in forming our middle class, in the current situation we regard the said measures as serious anti – crisis efforts and we have already started to cooperate with enterprises facing serious redundancy problems in order to be able to retrain workers who were temporarily made redundant”, VEB’s Chairman told the President.

VEB intends to extend 30 billion rubles to support small and medium-sized business in 2009

Moscow. April 3. INTERFAX – This year VEB intends to extend 30 billion rubles to support small and medium-sized business, Vnesheconombank Chairman Vladimir Dmitriev said at a meeting with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev at the Head of State’s country residence “Gorki”.

“This year we intend to extend 30 billion rubles through the Russian Development Bank to support small and medium-sized business” said V.Dmitriev.

According to him, “this year, as a whole, we are going to achieve a level of 60 billion rubles both through our banks and regional ones’.

V.Dmitriev reminded that last year 20 billion rubles were committed to support small and medium-sized business through the system of banks that cooperate with VEB.

“We expect that out of 130 billion rubles declared as VEB’s additional assets, 30 billion rubles will be committed to support small and medium-sized business”, he added.

V.Dmitriev said that with due regard to great importance which is being attached now to small and medium-sized business loan rates are expected to remain at the last year’s level.

“In 2008, credit rates amounted to 16% on average, and to 20% and higher on average in the banking system”, said V.Dmitriev.

“This year the situation is more complicated”, said D.Dmitriev.

“We are trying to be in line with this indicator”, said VEB’s Chairman.

“These are not market borrowings and the end borrower will be able obtain credits at preferential rates rather than market ones”, added V.Dmitriev.