Gazprombank proposes to pay 90 bln ruble VEB debt with shares - paper
MOSCOW. Sept 5 (Interfax) - Gazprombank is proposing to issue new shares with which it would pay off debts to Vnesheconombank (VEB), business daily Vedomosti reported, citing sources familiar with a letter that Gazprombank chief executive Andrei Akimov sent to Prime Minister Vladimir Putin about a month ago.
The sources said Putin, who chairs VEB supervisory board, wrote "agreed" on the letter and gave orders for this issue to be worked out.
A source close to VEB said the issue of converting the debt into shares is being discussed on Gazprombank's initiative, but no decision has been made yet.
A Finance Ministry official said Putin has given the ministry such instructions, but the ministry's position is negative. However, Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that he had no information about such instructions. A Gazprombank representative declined to comment.
According to the paper's sources, Gazprombank is proposing to convert its whole debt to VEB into stock. A source close to Gazprombank management estimated that VEB could get a stake of about 15%.
Gazprombank in 2009 took out two subordinated loans of 15 billion rubles and 75 billion rubles.