KPMG Baltics OÜ press release
March 29, 2018
Versobank customers require accounts in other banks
The customer of the Versobank that is in the process of liquidation must have a settlement account with any other bank, since no payments can be received from Versobank after the bank accounts are closed on March 26. The guarantee fund reimburses an amount of up to 100,000 euros, which was in the account at the time of its closure.
Customers of Versobank who are pensioners or who receive any benefits to receive pensions or benefits paid on April 5 must submit to the Social Insurance Department statements that they wish to receive money in the future in an account with another bank. If the pensioner does not have another account, it must be opened in one of the commercial banks of Estonia. Since April 5, contributions of pensioners and other clients are subject to reimbursement of up to 100,000 euros.
The liquidators will send a reimbursement message to all Versobank customers whose e-mail addresses are listed in the bank data. The instructions will also be published in the media. Official information on liquidation proceedings can be found on the Versobank website: www.versobank.com.
"From now on, all customers of Versobank that is in liquidation can check the balance of their deposits in the Versobank Internet bank at www.versobank.com. In order to receive compensation from the Guarantee Fund, it is necessary to fill out an application that can also be found in the online bank of Versobank from now on, " said liquidator of Versobank, KPMG Baltics certified auditor Eero Kaup.
In the work of the Versobank.com site on Thursday there were interruptions that prevented checking the balance in the accounts, but specialists are actively engaged in their elimination.
If the client does not have access to the Versobank internet bank, from March 29, 2018, on working days from 09:00 to 17:00 at Hallivanamehe, 4, 11317 in Tallinn, Versobank service center for Versobank is opened. For further information, please contact the liquidator (telephone 5679 8500 (on working days from 09:00 to 17:00), e-mail versobank@kpmg.ee).
According to the judgement of the Harju County Court, Versobank liquidators are the certified auditor Eero Kaup (partner KPMG Baltics OÜ), the internal auditor Viljar Alnek (Head of KPMG Baltics OÜ internal audit services) and certified advocate Ksenia Kravchenko (KPMG Law OÜ). When appointing liquidators, the Financial Supervision Authority took into account their lack of interest, qualifications and ability to organize the liquidation of the credit institution, which, by its nature, is a complex task requiring expertise in several areas of activity.
The liquidators started to perform their tasks and get acquainted with the bank's accounting data. The liquidators work closely with the Guarantee Fund, so that the fund can start to pay reimbursement of up to 100,000 euros to private and business customers of Versobank from April 5. Kaup added that by law the liquidation process of a credit institution lasts at least six months, and the liquidators expect that cooperation with all parties will go smoothly.
In the interests of unimpeded implementation of liquidation of Versobank AS, the Guarantee Fund has decided to start reimbursement of deposits and investments in the statutory limits from 5 April 2018 - up to 100,000 euros per depositor and up to 20,000 euros per investment client. Deposits of non-residents are also guaranteed and are subject to reimbursement on the conditions established by law and in accordance with the procedure provided by law.
The exact amount of the refundable amount to customers and the Guarantee Fund will be reported by the liquidator of Versobank AS, who is obliged within two working days to provide each investor with an opportunity to review the accounting information regarding his deposit and obtain information on the balance of the deposit.
Deposits that cannot be reimbursed by the Guarantee Fund are listed in Article 30 of the Guarantee Fund Act. For example, they include deposits placed by the Republic of Estonia or a foreign state or related institutions, credit institutions, insurers, fund managers and other financial institutions. Requirements that the Guarantee Fund does not reimburse are considered during the general liquidation proceedings. The Guarantee Fund does not reimburse the deposits confiscated on the basis of a court decision establishing the guilt of a person in money laundering or the financing of terrorism. If access to the deposit is limited on the basis of the order of the Money Laundering Information Bureau or if the contribution is arrested in the criminal proceeding in the money laundering or terrorist financing case, the deposit shall be suspended until the declaration is declared null and void or before the court judgment enters into force. Liquidators report the collection, review and satisfaction of claims in accordance with the provisions of the law.
According to the Law on Credit Institutions, liquidators are obliged to carry out a full inventory of all the assets of a credit institution as of the date of the entry into force of the decision to terminate it, to announce in at least two national newspapers, published twice a two-week period on the liquidation of a credit institution, and also in writing to notify of the liquidation all creditors about who there is information, having also informed through which credit institution the payment of claims amounts is made. Also, the liquidators are required to demand from all creditors, which have information, the submission of confirmation of the balance of their monetary claims within two months from the date of publication in the newspaper of the first notice of liquidation.