Page 81 - RusRPTMar21

8.0 Financial & capital markets 8.1 Bank sector overview
Measured by the final balance sheet total, Russia’s banking sector grew by 12.5% last year, clearly higher growth than in 2019. Growth in total assets has been largely supported by growth in the volume of housing loans and loans granted to small and medium-sized firms (SMEs).
This growth has been underpinned by government interest subsidies to borrowers and other subsidy programmes. Despite the economic recession, payment defaults scarcely increased and non-performing loans for the credit stock of the banking sector overall remained steady at 6.1%. On the other hand, many loans were restructured already at the end of spring.
At the end of last year, over RUB5.1 trillion rubles in loans of large firms were restructured, i.e. more than 14% of the corporate lending portfolios of Russia’s largest banks.
Corporate troubles are expected to show up as eroding the quality of bank lending portfolios this year at the earliest. However, the banking sector at this point is still well capitalised and rather well positioned to absorb potential credit losses.
81 RUSSIA Country Report March 2021 www.intellinews.com