Samolet is the first major developer to acquire a captive bank, CB Sistema.

Samolet was the first major developer to decide to purchase the bank. Until now, only automakers and marketplaces have built ecosystems with a financial link; large developers preferred not to have their own banks. Samolet chose the small CB Sistema, which, according to experts, will initially offer simple services to the developer’s clients – accounts, deposit boxes, payments, and will later develop into a full-fledged mortgage player.

The developer Samolet wants to buy its own bank with a universal license, Frank Media reported today, citing its CEO Anton Elistratov. The developer has already submitted a petition to the Central Bank for approval of the transaction. The name of the bank was not disclosed in Samolet.

According to several sources of Kommersant, both in the financial and development markets, we are talking about a small bank, CB Sistema. Kommersant’s interlocutors said that on the basis of Samolet Bank he intends to build his own “ecosystem” project, that is, to offer related banking services (deposit boxes, current accounts, payments) to home buyers. To enter the serious mortgage segment and work with escrow accounts, the bank will need additional investments, experts point out.

Samolet declined to comment. KB Sistema reported that they are not authorized to comment on such issues.

According to Kommersant’s interlocutors familiar with the situation, despite the bank’s small size, it was sold at a premium: an expert estimate of the sale price was capital plus 140–180 million rubles. bonus. This price can be justified by the good quality of assets and the bank’s low-risk policy.

Unlike car dealers and marketplaces, which are actively setting up their own banks (see Kommersant, November 16, 2021), developers have not yet been too active in this direction. According to Kommersant’s interlocutors in the development market, the reason is probably due to previous negative experience. “Back in 2010–2012, a number of large developers had their own banks or their shareholders owned shares in some banks,” notes one of them. He gives the example of NS Bank, which was previously owned by the already bankrupt Group of Companies SU-155. After the Central Bank began to clear the market of small and ineffective financial institutions, many developers began to abandon this practice, adds Kommersant’s interlocutor.

However, the situation has now changed. Against the background of the housing construction boom, developers have received a huge client base, to which they want to supply all possible related products, including banking products. “Combining the developer and the bank into one ecosystem seems logical. Cooperation between banks and developers has always been mutually beneficial: banks issued many mortgage loans through developers, developers stimulated demand for their apartments with profitable mortgages, notes OM Development CEO Alexander Pakholenko. “If the bank and developer become one with a single control center, this allows simplify and speed up many processes, customize and synchronize them to suit your goals and objectives.” According to him, such a financial and development ecosystem looks very promising for the client: many issues related to buying an apartment, obtaining a mortgage and housing and communal services issues can be resolved with a few clicks in the mobile application. “This is beneficial for the development of our own ecosystem of services. This is also the diversification of assets, which allows you to keep a balance in turbulent economic situations,” notes Dmitry Dolgov, general director of the real estate brokerage agency DOLGOV PRO. “Thirdly, it is a reduction in time and financial costs for internal business processes, especially in terms of working with escrow accounts. “

Ksenia Dementieva, Khalil Aminov