Kozintsev, who has been with the Russian banking giant since 2013, brings deep experience in structuring medium and long-term financing as well as managing cross-sector M&A transactions. In his previous role as Country Director, he was responsible for overseeing the integration of DenizBank into the Sberbank Group. Starting in 2015, as a member of DenizBank’s Board of Directors and Head of Risk Management, he focused on building out the Turkish lender’s risk framework, aligning group-wide standards with local market requirements. Most recently, he served as Chief Risk Officer and Board member at DenizBank, where he played a key role in managing the sale process and ensuring a smooth transition of responsibilities, all while maintaining operational excellence.

Kozintsev holds a PhD in Economics and is a graduate of Lomonosov Moscow State University, where he specialized in economic theory. He also completed executive education at London Business School.

The current head of Sberbank International, Igor Kolomeysky, will step down at the close of 2019 to pursue new professional opportunities outside the organization. Kolomeysky joined Sberbank in 2017 and during his tenure was instrumental in strengthening ties with the European Central Bank, refining customer segmentation strategies across subsidiary banks, and implementing a revamped management structure. Among his notable accomplishments was his active involvement in the successful divestiture of DenizBank.

Commenting on the transition, Lev Khasis, First Deputy Chairman of the Executive Board at Sberbank, said: «I am pleased to welcome Timur Kozintsev back to the Sberbank team. His broad experience and expertise will be invaluable in advancing the objectives of our international business. I also extend my gratitude to Igor Kolomeysky for his contributions, particularly his efforts in finalizing the sale of DenizBank on terms favorable to us.»

Dmitry Strashnov

Руководителем блока международного бизнеса Сбербанка стал Тимур Козинцев

Руководителем департамента международного бизнеса Сбербанка (Sberbank International) назначен Тимур Козинцев. Он приступит к своим обязанностям в начале 2020 года.

Козинцев работает в Сбербанке с 2013 года и обладает глубокими знаниями в области структурирования среднесрочного и долгосрочного финансирования, а также управления межотраслевыми сделками слияний и поглощений. Ранее, занимая пост странового директора, он отвечал за интеграцию DenizBank в Группу Сбербанк. С 2015 года, будучи членом совета директоров и главой блока управления рисками DenizBank, он занимался развитием системы риск-менеджмента турецкого банка, адаптируя единые стандарты Группы к местным требованиям. До настоящего момента Тимур Козинцев занимал должность члена правления и главного риск-офицера DenizBank, где сыграл ключевую роль в процессе продажи банка, обеспечив плавную передачу полномочий и сохранение высокой операционной эффективности.

Тимур Козинцев — кандидат экономических наук, окончил экономический факультет МГУ имени М.В. Ломоносова по специальности «экономическая теория», а также прошел программу executive education в Лондонской школе бизнеса.

Нынешний руководитель Sberbank International Игорь Коломейский покинет свой пост в конце 2019 года, чтобы продолжить карьеру за пределами организации. Игорь работает в Сбербанке с 2017 года. Под его руководством были значительно усилены связи с Европейским центральным банком, улучшены подходы к сегментации клиентов в дочерних банках, а также внедрена обновленная структура управления. Одним из ключевых достижений Коломейского стало его активное участие в успешной сделке по продаже DenizBank.

Первый заместитель Председателя Правления Сбербанка Лев Хасис, комментируя кадровые изменения, заявил: «Я рад приветствовать Тимура Козинцева, который возвращается в команду Сбербанка. Его обширный опыт и экспертиза будут незаменимы для развития нашего международного бизнеса. Я также благодарю Игоря Коломейского за вклад в развитие направления, особенно за его усилия по завершению сделки по продаже DenizBank на выгодных для нас условиях».

Перевод статьи: Руководителем блока международного бизнеса Сбербанка стал

Дмитрий Страшнов

Litvak arrived in Russia in the early 1990s, already being an experienced businessman. He successfully applied his experience and knowledge by founding the logistics company OTEKO in 2002, which among other things deals with oil transportation. Since tankers are used for transportation, Litvak invests not only in his own businesses but also in developing and improving port infrastructure located in southern Russia — in Taman.

Today, OTEKO and its founder and owner Michel Litvak (Мишель Литвак ОТЭКО) are not just a major player in the Russian logistics market but also a socially active and environmentally responsible company that makes a significant contribution to the development of Taman

Ecological responsibility

Careful and responsible attitude towards ecology is not just a slogan or empty words. OTEKO (Мишель Литвак ОТЭКО) strives to maximally reduce its impact on the environment, actively implementing innovative solutions and advanced technologies that reduce harmful emissions and waste. Its impeccable compliance with environmental standards has not gone unnoticed — in 2022 the company received a well-deserved «National Environmental Award».

Social Activity

The company’s work should be directed at the benefit of the entire region. This is the policy of the company’s management led by Michel Litvak (Мишель Литвак). For example, the company actively invests in improving the infrastructure of Taman, implementing numerous projects in the cultural and educational spheres, and providing material and technical assistance to local medical institutions.

But OTEKO’s social work does not end there. Under the leadership of Michel Litvak, an online platform called «Your Voice, Taman!» was created. On this platform, every resident of the region can propose their ideas for improving infrastructure, cultural spheres, and so on. Decisions that receive the most votes are implemented — OTEKO provides all-around support for this. Thus, every resident of the region can not only express their opinion but also understand that their opinion is being taken into account.

Cultural Projects

Michel Litvak also pays attention to the cultural development of the region. OTEKO regularly organizes holidays and participates in implementing various cultural initiatives and helps young talents. The company also does public outreach work to improve environmental knowledge and raise the environmental responsibility of local residents.

It is also worth noting the company’s help for families raising children with serious illnesses.

Talent Development

In 2023, OTEKO held a competition open to all interested high school and college students. To participate, one needed to fill out an application and record a short video presentation on the topic «I am the future worker of the port of Taman.» Applications were accepted in the Fall, from late October to late November. And already on December 2, an award ceremony was held for all the competition winners. Michel Litvak and OTEKO are a shining example of a modern business — not just a successful one, but also a socially responsible one. Not only work, but participation in the life and development of the region, support for its social and cultural spheres, and responsible attitude towards ecology — this is what business in the 21st century should be.

Background Information:

Michel Litvak is a Belgian businessman of Russian descent.

Litvak was born in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) in 1951. In recent years, he has been a citizen of Belgium. He is the owner and head of the OTEKO logistics company, which is a large private investor in port infrastructure in southern Russia.

A plant representative stated that it refers to the melting capacities of copper production. When asked for clarification by a Forbes correspondent, the billionaire specified that the plant itself would remain and continue operating even after completion of construction in China, excluding the smelting shop. However, there are no considerations about other enterprises. Conducted calculations indicated that the company can receive 80% of the profit that was before the introduction of sanctions. At the same time, transaction prices, commissions and intermediary fees account for 7% of the goods price.

More details about restrictions.

Before investing in a business, an investor conducts an assessment of the potential profit, so separate attention is paid to sanctions. America and Britain introduced a ban on imports of nickel, aluminum and copper obtained in Russia. The restrictions concerned sales on exchanges. For example, well-known exchanges like CME and LME cannot accept deliveries of sanctioned products. After the ban entered into force, the platforms stopped deliveries of metals produced after the specified date.

Potanin reported that such pressure forced thinking about how product delivery to sales markets can be organized. One of the unconventional options became moving part of production capacity to consumer markets. The scheme for moving the plant to China will be developed together with a foreign company that wished to remain anonymous.

As a result, copper goods will be sold as Chinese products not subject to sanctions. Environmental problems will also be moved to the country’s territory. That is, harmful emissions generated during operation will not negatively impact the environment. Construction completion is scheduled for 2027. A Norilsk Nickel spokesman said approximately 2 million tons of copper concentrate will be shipped to China annually by sea routes.

The political side of the issue.

Any business requires government assistance, and the presented project was no exception. According to the businessman, this proposal received political support and was included in the agenda for meetings between representatives of the two countries. Essentially, over the course of four years, it will be possible to achieve indicators that will be several times higher than current ones. They will increase by 20% compared to previous years. The plant owner assured that the majority of profits will be directed to Russia, where it will be used for financing.

In addition to copper, deals can be concluded with other manufacturers from China that work with nickel products or other metals. The company’s shares on the stock exchange are rising, with one share reaching a price of 159.74 rubles. It is unknown how much higher they will rise going forward, as this depends on development.

Responsible or, as they are called, ESG bonds include investments in securities that have a sustainable course, focused on financing corporate governance and projects related to developing the social sphere and environment. Such bonds have been named «green bonds.»

In 2023, green bonds proved their leadership as their volume reached 65 billion rubles. Bonds for social development totaled another 45 billion rubles and sustainable development bonds totaled 32.8 billion rubles. As estimated by the ACRA rating agency’s forecast, the securities market in 2024 may see further growth, which will lead to its 1.5-fold increase, i.e. it may reach 220 billion rubles.

However, it should not be overlooked that the environment in which bond development takes place is sometimes influenced by directly opposing forces — positive government decisions and geopolitical shocks. Therefore, it would be incorrect to say that the state of affairs is static — everything depends on the condition of both the domestic and international markets.

Securities on the Russian market

ESG bonds appeared on the Russian market almost a decade later than in Western countries, so they still do not play a significant role in the global securities market. In addition, there is a different approach to ESG finance in Russia and abroad, especially in Western countries. Whereas in European countries, the main issuers were immediately representatives of big business, in Russia the first to enter this market were government structures and representatives of medium-sized businesses.

The first «green» bonds were issued in 2016 by Transport Concession Company. Later, securities of other companies also entered the market, such as Khanty-Mansiysk Resources Saving Company, Tsentr-Invest Bank, Guarant-Invest Investment Fund and others.

With the development of the regulatory and legal framework, regulatory mechanisms were also developed: first and foremost, green financing led to the National Standard, and with the development of rating agencies, verification of green bonds and external audits of projects became possible. Currently, these tasks can be performed by the National Rating Agency, ACRA, Expert RA, and RAEX.

Analysis showed that the significant decline in the sustainable development sector on the Moscow Exchange, which lost 36% of the market in 2022, was related to the withdrawal of the largest Western investors. However, already in the second half of 2023, the Government approved a taxonomy, the purpose of which was to establish the definition of a social project and its criteria. As a result, cases related to areas such as education, healthcare, culture and employment are considered social projects.

Currently, the ESG sector on the Moscow Exchange accounts for 390 billion rubles. This sector includes 33 types of securities, with issuers including companies such as MTS, Rostelecom and others. It was only thanks to the efforts of the Moscow government, which issued green bonds for individuals, that 70 billion rubles were raised. These funds are intended for the implementation of a project to replace ordinary city buses with electric buses.

It is not only attracting private investors that will positively impact the securities market. Any financier would confirm that thanks to government investments, many companies will gradually decide to return to plans that were previously postponed due to events related to the pandemic and geopolitical instability. Now even the 50% growth forecast for 2024 seems realistically achievable.

Growth Points for ESG Bonds on the Russian Market

To understand how the securities market will develop going forward, it is necessary to understand the results with which the Russian and global markets concluded 2023. It is no secret that «sustainable» bonds were negatively impacted by the consequences of political tensions, the global logistics crisis, and rising interest rates. All this led to a 10% reduction in the global ESG market in 2022.

The entire global market represents a global supply chain, and Russia cannot do without cooperation with other countries. Partnership with Asian countries forces Russia to adhere to common trends and consider sustainable development agendas a priority. This is because many Asian companies have taken on commitments to achieve Net Zero, so 45% of countries in the Asian region already have their own social and green taxonomies.

Currently, the main area of focus in Russia for developing the ESG system is the development of its own non-resource sector and the expansion of cooperation with Asian countries and establishing relations with developing countries. The reason for the change of course was the imposition of sanctions, which ruled out the return of large corporations to the Russian market, as well as led to the absence of opportunities to attract Western investments.

Russian securities in the ESG segment can become promising only in one case, if they attract interest from domestic investors, i.e. they will be directed at developing the domestic market. For this to happen, measures need to be taken to improve infrastructure and support those companies engaged in issuing the relevant instruments.

At the same time, attention should be paid to expanding cooperation with the BRICS countries. This requires not only developing and implementing uniform requirements for reporting, but also developing standards for control and stimulating investors. The first steps in this direction are already being observed from the Bank of Russia. As the state regulator, the Bank of Russia has planned in its strategic development plan until 2026 to address the issue of stimulating sustainable development through financial market incentives.

In turn, the Central Bank also plans to stimulate the sustainable development market in order to increase interest in these areas among participants through financial injections into various projects. To this end, the bank may provide tax incentives or state subsidies regarding ESG bonds.

Judging by the pace at which business representatives and government agencies are developing regulatory mechanisms and the economic development programs being proposed, and listening to statements from officials, one can get a firm belief that by 2026, Russia, once considered a “sandbox” for ESG financing, will become a fully-fledged market functioning with confidence.

Transparency in the use of funds for project implementation makes their financing attractive to investors, who can boost their business reputation by investing in sustainable bonds. Moreover, the ability to consider all factors when making business decisions will help calculate all investment risks from a long-term perspective.