Page 69 - RusRPTFeb22

territory. Although in December, mortgage lending printed +3.2% m/m, the bounce is likely to have been a one-off driven by both seasonality and expectations of further rate rises. At the same time, lending rates increased for both the primary and secondary housing markets, with monetary tightening prevailing over subsidised rates.
Elevated demand for housing was matched by an expansion of supply, with the residential housing built in 2021 standing at a historic high of 92.6mn sqm, up 13.0% y/y.
Driven by demand, primary housing prices increased by approximately a third throughout 2021, with the bulk of the growth happening in 1H21 due to the availability of subsidised mortgage loans. The upward dynamics also applied to secondary market prices, with mortgage rates being low early in the year.
8.1.8 Sberbank news
Sberbank has posted a strong underlying performance for January 2022,
with earnings under RAS up 15.6% y/y to RUB100bn, implying 22.1% ROE. However, the elevated market volatility in January resulted in a comprehensive loss of RUB102bn, due to the revaluation of OFZ.
We note the solid performance from net F&C income (up 10.6% y/y) and the FX revaluation-driven spike in the provision charge, that
69 RUSSIA Country Report February 2022 www.intellinews.com