The Central Bank classified investments in the capital of subsidiaries and the volume of blocked assets

Six months after the resumption of disclosure of banks’ reports, the Central Bank for the first time classified additional information about their balance sheets. Now it is impossible to estimate the volume of investments in the capital of subsidiaries and affiliates, as well as balances in some accounts that reflect claims on non-residents, including blocked ones. Experts note that the traditional 101st form of reporting bank balance sheets “in its public presentation has become extremely inconvenient for analysis, its information content is severely limited, and new iterations are not announced within the framework of classification.”

The Bank of Russia closed part of the information on Form 101 of bank balance sheets as of January 1, 2024, Kommersant discovered in the published reports. This happened for the first time after the resumption of disclosure of bank data (from June 1, 2023). In mid-2023, in the new format of the 101st form, banks stopped publishing information on individual first-order accounts, data on second-order accounts (a detailed breakdown of various types of assets and liabilities), and intra-monthly turnover. In addition, individual accounts have been grouped (for example, the breakdown by residents and non-residents for loans and deposits has been removed).

There are two changes in the new version of Form 101 disclosure. Firstly, there is a new group account 60.0 (active and passive). It summarizes the balances of accounts 601 (participation in subsidiaries, dependent joint-stock companies, mutual investment funds), 602 (participation in LLCs, non-resident organizations, etc.), as well as 603 (settlements with debtors and creditors).

Secondly, group account 45.1 (active) was changed, which included balances on loans to non-state companies and loans to non-resident companies. The account received the number 45.0, and it was supplemented with data from account 408 (“other accounts”).

As explained by the managing director of Expert RA, Yuri Belikov, account 408 reflected funds in bank accounts of type “C” and funds in a special account of type “O”. These two accounts (types “C” and “O”) have appeared in bank assets since 2024; they reflect exclusively claims against “unfriendly” non-residents, notes banking expert Alexey Nechaev. In his opinion, it is likely that the Bank of Russia “decided to combine the corresponding amounts with the corporate loan portfolio in order to hide the scale of settlements with non-residents.”

The Central Bank itself stated that “technical amendments have been made to the disclosure format of Form 101 related to changes, including the Chart of Accounts of credit institutions.” Changes in active account 45.0, the Central Bank clarified, are associated with the addition of a new balance sheet account “with funds in a special account of type “O” in the currency of the Russian Federation, which accounts for blocked assets.” Information on them was not previously disclosed, the Central Bank added. With regard to account 60.0, “symmetrical closure of information on participation in subsidiaries and dependent joint-stock companies has been introduced by analogy with annual and interim financial statements.”

The aggregation of data from accounts 601 and 602 is relevant primarily for large banks, experts believe. “All acquisitions and disposals of subsidiaries are processed through these accounts. Seeing their dynamics, we can draw conclusions about changes in the composition of banking groups that have such investments,” explains Alexey Kolosov, head of the group for providing audit services to companies of the financial sector Kept. In fact, the accounts reflecting investments in the capital of subsidiary legal entities are combined with the receivables of counterparties for the bank’s business operations, Mr. Nechaev clarifies.

In other forms of disclosed bank statements (on financial results, on mandatory ratios, on equity) for the last reporting date, Kommersant did not find any changes. However, “the fact remains that the 101st form in its public presentation has become extremely inconvenient for analysis, its information content is severely limited, and new iterations are not announced within the framework of its classification,” Mr. Belikov emphasizes. The Central Bank says that the current approaches to disclosure are valid until the end of 2024, “the issue of their extension will be considered taking into account the situation.”

Olga Sherunkova