Page 99 - RusRPTFeb24

Overall the loan portfolio grew by 26.3% y/y in 2023. In terms of funding, individuals increased their funds with the bank by 5.7% m/m in December (as per previous reports indicating higher deposits on elevated interest rates), while corporate clients, on the contrary, decreased deposits by 0.9% (after 3.4-4.0% growth in two previous months). At year-end 2023, total retail and corporate deposits grew by 23.8% y/y.
“Given the high asset growth rates, total capital adequacy (N1.0) declined by 1.4 p.p. (up 0.4 p.p. in December) to a still high 13.3% at year-end 2023. The latter will allow the bank to allocate part of 2023 profit to dividend payments,” RenCap believes.
Provided that the IFRS financial result does not differ significantly from the RAS result (in recent quarters the deviation has been insignificant), this would imply a dividend payment of RUB747bn (pay-out ratio was maintained at 50% of IFRS profit) or RUB33.05 per ordinary and preferred share, the analysts estimate.
To remind, Sber, under full blocking sanctions, did not pay the RUB623bn dividend for 2021 amid the fallout from Russia’s full-scale military invasion of Ukraine.
But the bank surprised with the record-breaking total dividend payout of RUB565bn ($7.3bn) in 2022, making more than double the RUB271bn net profit the bank earned last year. The largest recipient of the dividend, at RUB282.5bn, will be the state (50% plus one share in Sberbank).
8.1.8 Bank news
Russian insurance group Ingosstrakh filed a lawsuit against 20 foreign reinsurers and reinsurers for a total RUB381mn ($4.2mn), Vedomosti reported, citing documents from the Moscow Arbitration Court. Among the defendants are major international companies such as Germany's Allianz and Hannover Re, Switzerland's Re, US Transatlantic Reinsurance, Korean Reinsurance Company, General Insurance Corporation of India and Qatar Reinsurance Company. The essence of the claims has not been disclosed. A representative of Ingosstrakh told Vedomosti that the lawsuit is related to unreimbursed debts arising from reinsurance contracts. The list of defendants is formed on the basis of the terms of obligations and applicable law, he added.
The UN opened an account in a Russian bank to enable climate payments amid sanctions, Reuters reported on January 25. The UN said it opened a Russian bank account in 2022 as Western sanctions complicated the use of normal payment channels and has received membership fees from three Russian banks to a UN climate funding programme since then.
99 RUSSIA Country Report February 2024 www.intellinews.com