Page 90 - RusRPTApr21

The decrease in profit was due to negative foreign exchange revaluation (- RUB6bn after +RUB49bn in January) against the background of the strengthening of the ruble.
The number of profitable banks in February fell markedly (to 233 from 275), mainly due to the negative currency revaluation. Nevertheless, the share of banks that made a profit in the first two months of 2021 in the sector's assets even slightly increased (to 97% from 96% in January), as some medium-sized banks, which were unprofitable in January, gained profit.
Sberbank — Russia’s most valuable company — is a testament to the corporate turnaround Russia experienced in the second half of 2020. Russia’s companies lost a lot of money in 2020 but made strong profits in the last quarter of the year.
After earnings crashed during the country’s national lockdown last spring and monthly profits approached zero, the bank bounced back strongly, recording a $10bn windfall for the full year.
The lender started this year where it left off, breaking records for earnings in both January and February, and senior Sova Capital analyst Andrey Mikhailov believes the bank is “on track to earn around one trillion rubles ($13.5bn) in 2021.” The International Monetary Fund (IMF) also recently highlighted the strength of Russia’s banks through the pandemic in a press conference on the state of the Russian economy.
Data from Fitch Ratings shows Russia’s banking sector even increased profits in 2020 in ruble terms — from around RUB1.3 trillion in 2019 to RUB1.6 trillion ($21bn) in 2020.
Only three of the country’s largest 83 lenders tracked by the ratings agency recorded a loss last year, and early evidence suggests bad debts are coming in lower than expected, which should be an extra boost to banks’ profitability.
90 RUSSIA Country Report April 2021 www.intellinews.com