Non-commercial partnership Trade System Administrator (TSA) plans to attract one of the largest Russian banks to conduct settlement operations between participants of the wholesale energy market, announces the partnership's press release. "TSA needs to maintain various financial instruments, like credits and guarantee system. We plan to increase our financial capabilities, and that is why we need a large bank", - a source at TSA told Interfax. The choice of a credit organisation is also connected with the intention of the non-commercial partnership to reduce possible financial risks and increase the reliability of mutual settlements among subjects of the wholesale energy and facilities market. At its meeting on 6 August the Supervisory Council of TSA approved the eligibility criteria for such credit organisation. The bank is required to have a capital of at least 35 mln roubles and an issuer's credit rating according to Standard & Poor's Russian scale of at least ruAA, or be assigned a quality category of at least A1 as rated by Rating Research Center. The contender bank should also have at least five years of operation on the market, and possess the software and hardware solutions required for conducting settlements between subjects of the wholesale energy and facilities market. At present proposals from banks are being analyzed. The winner will be announced in September, and all settlements will be transferred to the bank as of 1 January 2008. It was reported earlier that TSA intended to purchase a bank, but now the strategy of the non-commercial partnership has changed. |
