Page 93 - RusRPTDec21

8.1.8 Sberbank news
Sber (formerly known as Sberbank) released its 10M21 RAS standalone results on November 9. Sberbank earned RUB1.046trillion in 10M21 and RUB109bn in October thanks to the growth in core revenue and its moderate cost of risk, with both trends having been observed for months. Monthly NII and net fee income added 11% y/y and 4% y/y in October, respectively. The growth in NII was supported by the respective 25% y/y and 4.6% y/y expansions in the retail and corporate loan books. The growth in NII was not impacted by the moderation in NIM, which was limited at 11bps y/y. Sberbank posted a small reversal in loan loss provisions in October, as no new major NPLs emerged during the month. The share of overdue loans did not change m/m, remaining at 2.3% in October, while the coverage of overdue loans with provisions remained around 2.3x. Opex surged 15% y/y in October, as Sberbank increased salaries starting 1 July and continued to hire new employees for its ecosystem businesses. Following this, the bank's C/I ratio increased to 34% in October vs. 31% in September and 32% in October 2020. However, Sberbank closed 87 outlets on a net basis in October, continuing the trend that started in September, and these closures are likely to have a positive impact on its opex growth going forward.
Sber presented details of the group's ESG transformation, including plans for responsible financing, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, assessing ESG risks (with ESG scoring to be integrated into the lending process in 2Q22), cybersecurity and including people with special needs, young people and foreigners into banking services. Sber considers that 13 out of 17 SDGs are relevant for the group. It targets tripling retail ESG clients to 23mn by YE23 (22% of the current retail base). Sber is implementing ESG initiatives across its ecosystem, including recyclable packaging at SberMarket and Samokat, and indicating which containers to use for waste collection as well as undertaking education and charity initiatives. Both top management and the Supervisory Board have 2023 strategic ESG goals that target greater efficiency in climate matters, client servicing and employee engagement (a 75% employee engagement index).
93 RUSSIA Country Report December 2021 www.intellinews.com