Page 113 - RusRPTApr24

The bank's loan portfolio grew by 37% in 2023, customer funds (deposits and current accounts) by 48% y/y, and net interest income by 35% y/y (to RUB 139bn). In 4Q23, corporate lending growth remained strong, amounting to 12% q/q, retail lending growth remained at the 3Q23 level – 8% q/q. The cost of risk in 2023 was 1.8%, which is noticeably lower than pre-crisis levels. In 2023, net income from non-credit operations continued to grow steadily (+38% y/y, to about RUB 21bn), including insurance, leasing and factoring. The ratio of operating expenses to total operating income was approximately 40% (same as in 2020-2021).
Capital adequacy (N1.0), taking into account the growth of assets over the year, decreased by 0.6 percentage points. up to 12.0%, maintaining a margin in relation to the minimum regulatory level. In June, the shareholders meeting will consider the issue of paying dividends based on the results of 2023. The latter, according to the bank, may amount to 1.1 rubles. per share (5.7% to the current price). The Bank is awaiting approval from supervisory authorities regarding the approval of the previously announced transaction to acquire HFC Bank. If approved in the near future, consolidated statements, including the results of Sovcombank and HFC Bank, may be disclosed based on the results of 1Q24.
Net profit of VTB Group under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) amounted to 61.3bn rubles ($662mn) in January-February 2024, which is 33.2% lower than in the same period last year, VTB reported. Meanwhile First Deputy Chairman of the Management Board Dmitry Pianov projects that net profit of VTB will surpass 100bn rubles ($1bn) by the end of Q1 2024. "With net profit worth 61.3bn rubles we believe that we will surely exceed 100bn rubles worth of net profit by the end of the first quarter," he said.
VTB expects to complete the process of selling a portion of its blocked assets to a third party, First Deputy CEO Dmitry Pyanov told reporters. "We will highly likely complete and present to you the parameters of one of strategies called the ‘third party’ by the end of April. We are now finalizing this case. Depending on the period in April when we will end, we will make a contract and make settlements. This will be either the event of the second quarter, if it is late April, or probably even of the first [quarter], should it be in early April," the banker said. Several dozenbn rubles are at stake, he noted. VTB estimates the amount of assets frozen as a result of sanctions at the level of about 900bn rubles ($9.7bn), Pyanov said this February. The credit institution is considering four strategies for their release, including selling a portion of frozen assets to another counterparty.
VTB Bank published unaudited financial results for 2M24. Since the beginning of the year, the loan portfolio has grown by 4.2% (better than the sector, including due to the growth of the corporate portfolio by 6%), customer funds - by 1.2% (at the sector level). Despite the restrained cost of
113 RUSSIA Country Report April 2024 www.intellinews.com