Page 76 - RusRPTMar19

with only 479 banks left as the CBR continues to close smaller banks at the very steady rate of about three a week.
8.1.8 Sberbank news
Russia’s retail banking giant Sberbank earns yet another record profit in 2018, but probably doesn't have the cash to cover a full 50% of profit dividend payout
State-owned Russian retail banking giant Sberbank earned another record of RUB831.7bn ($12.6bn) under IFRS, up 11% from the year before, the bank announced on February 28, 2019.
CEO German Gref said last year that the state-owned giant is on course to earn over RUB1 trillion in the next years and the bank remains one of the most profitable in the sector.
Analysts Uralsib expected the bank to earn RUB824.2bn of net profit, VTB Capital RUB830.5bn, Renaissance Capital RUB829bn, Alfa Bank RUB843bn and Aton and BCS Global Markets RUB853bn – the highest projections.
However, despite the good news Sberbank said that it hasn't earned enough to pay out 50% of its profits as dividends, in keeping with the Ministry of Finance orders for all state-owned enterprises (SEOs).
The Central Bank of Russia (CBR) owns 50% + 1 share in the bank and would pay the dividend contributions into the budget. On the 2018 numbers Sberbank should pay out a dividend of RUB415bn but the ministry has already penciled in half as much: a RUB209.5bn contribution to the budget in 2019 from Sberbank as dividend payments.
However, Sberbank is bound to pay less. Part of the issue is that unlike regular companies, a bank has to maintain adequate capital adequacy ratios to ensure its own stability. And in a country as crisis prone as Russia, especially with new “crushing” US sanctions looming making sure the biggest bank in Russia can weather any storm is high on the Kremlin’s priority list.
76 RUSSIA Country Report March 2019 www.intellinews.com