How to assess the reliability of the Bank

In recent times, regularly reports on the revocation of the license of another Bank. In the last six months it affected more than 35 banks. Obviously, in difficult economic conditions, the trend of deprivation of licences and the bankruptcy of banks will continue. This makes the Russians think about the reliability of their banks and forcing careful to choose a financial institution to open a Deposit.

It is possible to identify a number of criteria against which to assess the Bank for reliability.

You have a valid license and participation in the Deposit insurance system

The first thing you should pay attention when choosing a Bank, it is the presence of a valid license. To check whether the license is valid, on the site of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation. All financial institutions with current licenses in the section Information on credit institutions".

You should pay attention to the license terms. The longer the Bank is represented on the market, so it is more stable. Experience is indirect evidence of the presence of well-functioning crisis management arrangements to the Bank. However, to overestimate the value of this parameter is not necessary.

Please note that the Bank to which you plan to invest money was in the Deposit insurance system. This information is easy to check the website ASV (Agency on insurance of contributions). In this case, even in bankruptcy you are guaranteed to get compensation from the state within 1.4 million rubles.

The reliability ratings of banks

Another important criterion may be the Bank's place in the rankings of reliability. They are made by Russian and international rating agencies. The most authoritative in the global scale are such agencies as Fitch, Standard&Poor's, Moody's. Among the Russian major are considered to be the Expert RA, RusRating, AK&M.

Significant signal, makes you wonder, is the revision of the rating of the Bank lately for the worse or the negative Outlook.

Note that financial statements, which underpins the ratings do not always reflect the real financial picture. Experience revocation of licenses recently confirmed it. Not isolated cases when external successful financial dynamics of the Bank's balance sheet have discovered a huge "hole". There are other reasons that raise questions about the objectivity of ratings. So can trust them and not worth it.

The Bank's financial statements

All major Russian banks work in the form of a JSC. It is a public company that must publish reports in the public domain.

What values should pay attention to when evaluating a Bank? First and foremost is the size of the Charter capital and total assets. The larger the Bank, the higher the probability that the state will support it or sanitize it in case of any difficulties. Better to look at these values in comparison with other banks. It can be done on the website of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation or RBC Rating (see Banks).

To indirectly estimate the value of the Bank and on the basis of the number of branches across the country. In the opinion of the bankers, well-developed branch network is one of the indicators of reliability.

In the study of financial indicators will also focus on the dynamics of profits and losses, profitability, the value of current assets. In statics, these values are a little revealing.

The Bank when analysing the banks pays attention to such criteria as:

• instant liquidity (the minimum valid value is 15%);
• current liquidity (not less than 50%);
• equity capital adequacy (the ratio is 10%).

The owners of the Bank

The Bank statements must contain information about shareholders of the Bank. The presence in the ownership structure of the state or large corporations increases the stability of the Bank. After all, these owners can provide additional support with financial difficulties. While a high percentage of participation of individuals creates additional risks.

Background information

Read the latest news from the Bank and reviews ordinary investors. Failures in the transfer of money, late payments, closure of branches, large trials - all threat signals. You can also perform all litigation involving the Bank on the website kad.arbitr.ru. If the Bank appears as a defendant, it says there are problems and even impending bankruptcy.

As a positive news, you can consider opening a new branch, launching new applications, attracting foreign investors etc.

View and banking program offered by a financial institution. So, the ultra-high stakes on the background of the market may indicate liquidity problems at the Bank.