CC Capital group owner Tchelidze wants to buy BTA Bank Ukraine from Rakishev

MOSCOW. April 3 (Interfax) - The Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMCU) on March 2 cleared Georgian citizen Rati Tchelidze to buy BTA Bank, Ukrainian media reported, quoting the AMCU website.

Tchelidze is the beneficiary of the CC Capital group. The National Bank of Ukraine in February invalidated the license of two group members, Mister Cash LLC and CC Loan LLC, to issue loans.

"Permission granted to an individual - Georgian citizen Rati Tchelidze - to purchase shares of the BTA Bank joint-stock company, which guarantees in excess of 50% of the votes in the supreme governing body," the AMCU said.

Currently, 100% of the shares of BTA Bank Ukraine belong to BTA Bank Kazakhstan, once one of the largest banks in Kazakhstan, which gave up its banking license several years ago. Currently, this is in effect an asset management company owned by Kazakh businessman Kenes Rakishev and his Fincraft Group, formerly Novacom Corporation.

BTA Bank Ukraine was founded in 1992. According to the National Bank of Ukraine, the bank ranked 65th by assets among 67 banks operating in the country as of January 1, 2023. It had net losses of UAH 33.6 million in 2022. Despite the uncertainty in Ukraine, the bank considers it possible to continue its work, given appropriate capital adequacy, as per NBU requirements, at 112% in 2022, compared with 121% in 2021; its shareholders' intentions to continue to support the bank's activities; and substantial liquidity, some formed at the bank's own expense, the bank said in a report.

The AMCU in December 2021 allowed the Kazakh fintech company Kaspi.kz to buy BTA Bank. In October that year, Kaspi.kz announced the signing of an agreement for the sale of 100% of the bank's shares so that the holding could obtain a banking license in Ukraine. The deal did not take place.

Microcredit services Mister Cash and CC Loan ranked 12th and 19th, respectively, among Ukrainian non-bank financial companies by revenue in January-September 2022. They ranked sixth by combined revenue.

The NBU canceled their lending licenses following spot checks that revealed "numerous violations of legislation on the protection of financial service consumer rights."

CC Loan had revenue of UAH 434 million, net losses of UAH 60 million, assets of UAH 257.2 million and equity of UAH 220.2 million for 9M 2022. Mister Cash had revenue of UAH 286.8 million, net losses of UAH 47.7 million, assets of UAH 106.1 million and equity of UAH 4.4 million.

CC Capital included these two companies and the Point insurance company as of the end of 2021. The NBU fined Point nearly UAH 2.3 million following a spot check for not concluding insurance contracts in writing.

CC Loan has operated in the microcredit market since 2015. Mister cash aimed at young people, was launched in 2019. The insurer joined the group that year. Tchelidze's CC Continental City Capital Ltd is the majority stakeholder in all three.