January 24, Minsk /Anna Kot - BELTA/. The National Bank of Belarus considers it necessary to grant leasing companies the status of financial intermediaries to increase the financial potential of the leasing industry. This was announced today at the conference "Leasing in Belarus. Trends and Prospects" by Dmitry Nabzdorov, Head of the Department for Regulation of Non-Banking Operations of the National Bank of Belarus, as reported by a BELTA correspondent.
"The transition to integrated regulation (mega-regulation) and supervision of all sectors of the financial market, except for the banking sector, is a coordinated policy of the government and the National Bank in the country's financial market for the next five-year period," noted Dmitry Nabzdorov. It is planned that the National Bank will, among other things, carry out regulation and be responsible for the development of leasing activities. A draft decree on certain issues of financial sector regulation is currently under consideration by the Council of Ministers.
Among the sources of financing for leasing operations, the own funds of leasing companies account for only about 25%, with the remaining 75% being borrowed funds, mainly bank loans. The leasing portfolio of leasing companies established by banks accounts for more than 70% of the total leasing portfolio. From the information provided, it follows that leasing in Belarus is developing exclusively due to the presence of banks. This occurs through the creation of leasing companies, lending to leasing companies, and by banks directly carrying out leasing operations, Dmitry Nabzdorov noted. In general, this situation corresponds to pan-European indicators, where the largest lessors are either part of the banking sector or are divisions of large industrial and financial investment holdings, he noted. "The consolidation of banking and leasing business objectively pushes for the establishment of a single regulator for these two segments of the financial market," believe the National Bank.
Currently, an increase in the financial potential of the leasing industry as a whole is possible through the entry of large foreign investors into the domestic market, the emergence of new large domestic investors that are not banks, and the allocation of significant budget funds for the development of leasing (funds for these purposes are not provided for in the budget for 2013), believe the National Bank. In addition, the intensification of the development of the leasing industry is possible through the market redistribution of funds generated in the financial market, including through their flow from the banking to the leasing segment. This path, in the opinion of the National Bank, is the most realistic.
"Its implementation will require measures aimed at acquiring leasing companies the status of real financial intermediaries. As a result, banks, when lending to leasing companies, will assess their creditworthiness not by analogy with ordinary legal entities engaged in economic activities, but taking into account the specifics inherent in financial intermediaries. This is possible provided that a specific state body takes on the functions of supervising the financial stability of leasing companies. The National Bank, with its many years of experience in banking supervision, has proposed its candidacy for this role," said Dmitry Nabzdorov.
Subsequently, as the financial capacity of leasing companies strengthens and the mechanisms for supervising leasing activities improve, the National Bank, as the country's central bank, will be able to allow leasing companies access to the interbank market or even act as a lender of last resort for them, by analogy with refinancing banks, which can take the development of the leasing industry to a new level, noted a representative of the National Bank. "In this case, the emergence of new domestic and foreign investors in the market becomes more realistic, which means the development of leasing," he added. At the same time, the transfer of regulatory functions to the National Bank will not prevent the Government of Belarus from continuing to stimulate the development of individual enterprises (producers, lessors, lessees) through budget funds, said Dmitry Nabzdorov.
It should be noted that the possible transfer of regulator functions in the sphere of leasing activities to the National Bank has caused active discussion among conference participants. In particular, leasing companies expressed the opinion that in this case, the leasing market could be monopolized by banking companies, leasing could be concentrated in large cities, and other changes that would lead to a deterioration of their operating conditions. According to Dmitry Nabzdorov, the participation of banks in the leasing market is already quite significant, so there is no need to fear market monopolization. The activities of the National Bank, if it receives powers to regulate this market, will be aimed at its development, emphasized the representative of the regulator.-0-