Priorbank
Belarusian private bank
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Priorbank (Belarusian: Адкрытае акцыянернае таварыства «Пріорбанк») is a Belarusian commercial bank that as of 2022 was one of the largest commercial banks in Belarus and the largest private bank in the country.[1] In 2022 the bank had a market share of 6.6%.[2]
 | |
| Company type | Privately held company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Financial services |
| Founded | January 20, 1989 |
| Headquarters | , |
Area served | Belarus |
| Products | Banking services, finance, insurance, mortgage loans, private banking, and wealth management |
184,323,000 Belarusian ruble (2021)  | |
| Total assets | 6,228,597,000 Belarusian ruble (2021) |
Number of employees | 1,744 (2021) |
| Parent | Soven 1 Holding Limited The State Committee on Property of the Republic of Belarus |
| Website | priorbank |
History
The bank was established on January 20, 1989 as Minsk Innovation Bank, a joint venture of several large industrial concerns, Minsk Tractor Works, Minsk Automobile Plant, MZH, MZVT and "Gorizont". In 1991 it changed its name to Priorbank.[3][4]
In 1997, one of the main shareholders became the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, which sold its shareholding in 2008.[5]
In 2003, 50% of the shares were acquired by the Austrian banking group Raiffeisen Bank International, later its share increased to 87.7%.[6]
Since April 2023, the bank has been under Canadian sanctions in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and support provided by the bank to Russia.[7][8]
In 2024, Priorbank's assets increased by 6.2% to 8.67 billion Belarusian rubles. The bank's equity increased by 30.2% to 2.13 billion Belarusian rubles. Return on capital was 22.8%, and return on assets was 5.6%. The bank received 484.1 million Belarusian rubles in net profit, which is almost a sixth of the total profit of commercial banks in Belarus (excluding the Development Bank).[9]
In September 2024, Raiffeisen Bank International sold its stake in Priorbank to an unknown company from the UAE as part of a deal to get out of its investments due to the banks links to supporting the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[10]
