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Weekly Lists
August 18, 2017 www.intellinews.com I Page 22
bne:Banker
Russian banks are in profit but loan growth is slow
The Central Bank of Russia (CBR) published preliminary banking sector statistics for July on August 15, amid a brouhaha over an Alfa Capital investment adviser issuing a research note that questioned the stability of many of Russia’s biggest private banks.
The banking sector is back in profit but poor loan growth – espe- cially in corporate lending – is holding the sector back, the CBR data shows. At the moment it is the now visible growth in consumption that is driving growth in the bank sector where consumer lending has finally started to grow again and a new source of profits.
Overall loan growth was modest, up 0.6% m/m or 0.4% if adjusted for a 0.8% weaker ruble. Corporate lending remains on its back as Rus- sia’s leading companies have chosen to tap the international capital markets instead of domestic banks. Corporate loans increased by only 0.3% m/m while retail loans were up 1.3% m/m.
The share of gross non-performing loans (NPLs) held by Serbian banks decreased to 15.6% through June, reaching its lowest level since April 2009, according to the National Bank of Serbia's (NBS) August Inflation Report released on August 16.
The Serbian central bank claims that the fall in bad loans was thanks to the implementation of the NPL Resolution Strategy, adopted in August 2015, which continues to yield good results. Ac- cording to the NBS, the NPL ratio declined 6.7pp since the strategy was adopted.
Nearly two-thirds of all Russians (63%) choose the ruble as their preferred savings currency, according to a survey by the state- owned pollster, the Russian Public Opinion Research Centre (VTsI- OM). That is up from July 2015 when 53% of respondents chose the Russian currency for accumulating savings.
The dollar and the euro were chosen by 5% and 3% of respondents (7% and 5% in July 2015), and other currencies made up 1% of the total. In July 2015, 41% of respondents said that they do not have savings. That has fallen to a third of respondents (33%) who report- ed that they do not have savings, Vedomosti reported.
Serbian banks' bad loan ratio falls to lowest level since April 2009 at end-June
Nearly two-thirds of Russians choose ruble as their preferred savings currency