Bank of Russia to initiate consultations for sale of stake in National Payment Card System

ST. PETERSBURG, September 24. /TASS/. The Bank of Russia is holding active discussions on the sale of "a fairly large stake" in the National Payment Card System (NSPK) with market participants, planning to start consultations with potential buyers in October, Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina said at the International Banking Forum.

"We are currently actively discussing the potential sale of quite a large stake in the NSPK, which we are legally permitted to do. <…> Since such national infrastructure should be equally distant, we are legally restricted to no more than 5% to avoid any dominant influence. <…> The evaluation is now nearing completion, and we plan to start consultations with potential buyers as early as October," she said.

It is not required that only banks be NSPK shareholders, the regulator’s chief noted.

"It is important for us not to get bogged down in disputes over creating redundant infrastructure, which would hurt the whole market, considering how long it took us to transition to a unified QR system. We would like to attract not purely financial investors interested in returns from monopolistically set payment service fees. Our goal is to attract a high-quality investor, essentially a partner," she stressed.

In preparing for the NSPK sale, the regulator assessed the possibility of reducing fees for banks, Nabiullina said, adding that it also intends to gradually lower them.

Banks’ interest

VTB is interested in purchasing a stake in NSPK, and is ready to buy 5%, Chief Executive Officer of Russia’s second-biggest lender Andrey Kostin told reporters.

"We are interested [in buying a stake in NSPK]. With 5% being offered, we will probably [take 5%]," he said.

Russian Agricultural Bank (Rosselkhozbank) Chief Executive Officer Boris Listov said in July that the bank was considering the possibility of participating in the capital of the National Payment Card System.