Page 68 - RusRPTJan22

provision recovery in October. However, without the effect of the weaker ruble, we think it could have been close to zero. The share of overdue loans was flat m/m, remaining at 2.3% in November, and the coverage of overdue loans remained above 2.2x.
Opex surged 17% y/y in November due to salary increases, the calendarization of expenses and employees’ remuneration from SberSpasibo bonuses. The bank's C/I ratio fell to 32% in November vs. 34% in October and 38% in November 2020, as the increase in revenue more than offset opex growth.
SBER issued its first RUB25bn of green bonds last month following the company’s ESG transformation activities.
“We view SBER's 11M21 RAS standalone results as positive, as they showed a solid growth in core revenue coupled with a low cost of risk. We keep SBER on our list of top picks, with the next planned catalyst being SBER’s Investor Day on Wednesday, 15 December,” Sova Capital said.
The Ukrainian subsidiary of the Russian Sberbank has changed its name to MR Bank. Sberbank decided to change the name of its subsidiary "Sberbank" (Kyiv) into "MR Bank", due to a decision of Sberbank of Russia dated September 27, which was published on its website. The shareholder also authorized the bank's board to independently decide on the procedure and terms of using new marks for goods and services.
8.1.8 Bank news
Renaissance Insurance Group (RIG) is one of the three leading independent composite insurers in Russia. It is the largest independent life insurer, with an 11% market share, and one of the top four independent non-life insurers.
RIG offers unique exposure to the Russian insurance sector, benefitting from structural shifts in macro and regulation, enhanced by RIG’s unique cost efficient digital platform, which has multiple levers of growth (including inorganic) and superior profitability, with an average 2019-9mo21 ROATE of 23.6%. We see digitally-enabled RIG as a structural winner and consolidator in the sector. We initiate coverage of the company with a 12-month Target Price of RUB148, which implies a Buy recommendation (31% ETR).
Top-down: a fundamentally attractive market. In 1H21, the Russian economy bounced back to its pre-COVID levels, and our economists expect real GDP growth of 1.8-2.3% in 2022-25F. Low interest rates
68 RUSSIA Country Report January 2022 www.intellinews.com