A branch of Sinara Bank in Moscow suspended work due to the influx of customers

A sharp increase in bank deposit rates can lead to unpleasant situations for depositors. Bank “Sinara” at the end of July introduced a new savings account with a rate of up to 10% per annum. Apparently, the influx of customers, at least in Moscow, turned out to be significant, as a result, one branch was closed ahead of time “for technical reasons”, and information about the new tool disappeared from the site. Market participants admit that the bank could have already fulfilled the plan to raise liabilities. And lawyers emphasize that the employees of the department have the right to change the mode of operation.

The only general branch in Moscow of Sinara Bank (57th place in terms of assets at the beginning of 2022) on August 2, as a result of the influx of customers, closed after about 13:00 (instead of the official 19:00), the Kommersant correspondent was convinced. Employees next to the front door hung an announcement that the additional office “Moskovsky” of the Sinara Bank “suspended work for technical reasons.” There were people inside, and it was planned that their maintenance would be completed. However, new customers who remained on the street were no longer allowed inside. According to them, among the clients standing on the street, there were also those whom yesterday the bank employees promised to let into the office by appointment without a queue.

From the conversations, it became clear that the clients wanted to place funds. This could be due to the fact that the bank offered new customers who opened a savings account from July 24 to August 31 a rate of 10% per annum for the first two months. At the end of July, following the increase in the key rate of the Central Bank to 8.5%, banks began to increase deposit rates, including up to 10% per annum (see Kommersant of July 22). However, in the afternoon, a press release about this particular service and a product card were already removed from the bank’s website, although other offers remained.

Waiting clients demanded the director of the office. The employee who left did not introduce herself, but, according to her, the bank could not serve customers for technical reasons. The employee clarified that there was only one branch in Moscow (the second office serves payroll clients of TMK and the Sinara group), and stated that it was impossible to sign up, but you could come tomorrow.

Later, the bank explained to Kommersant that the product itself “is not closed and you can open it throughout the network without restrictions.” “The page was removed from the site, as it was left for revision, because it did not correspond to the new style,” they clarified there, promising to return the information by the end of the week. The bank also claims that “the office did not stop serving customers all day and continues to work at the moment.”

Sinara is a regional bank with a focus on unsecured consumer lending, investments in securities, as well as settlement and cash services for legal entities, the Expert RA rating agency noted in May. According to the results of the first six months of 2023, the bank showed a net profit under RAS in the amount of 213 million rubles. 96.82% of the bank’s shares belong to the Sinara group.

According to Kommersant’s interlocutors in a number of banks, the reasons for the restriction of service could be different – Sinara could not cope with both the number of people and the amounts brought by depositors. One of Kommersant’s interlocutors admits that the bank “was faced with the task of collecting a certain amount of depositors’ funds, which was completed ahead of schedule.” But the Kommersant source also acknowledges the possibility of a technical failure associated with an influx of clients.

In practice, such situations happened, for example, in 2022, when the key rate was sharply raised to 20% per annum, one of Kommersant’s interlocutors notes. However, he explains, then they managed the situation – they introduced electronic queues, promised customers to roll over deposits without losing interest, etc.

The Central Bank did not respond to Kommersant’s request. Lawyers note that the bank’s actions were legal. A credit institution has the right to both set certain hours of operation of its facilities and change their mode of operation, while banks have the right to do this for any reason, banking lawyer Nina Semina emphasizes. According to her, the decision to close the branch can be made by its head as well.

As a rule, messages on bank websites with offers on savings accounts, deposits and loan products are of a marketing nature and do not imply an offer, the lawyer clarifies. Thus, Mrs. Semina adds, those who did not have time to take advantage of the action cannot oblige and force the bank to conclude an agreement.

Olga Sherunkova