Page 95 - RusRPTOct23

companies from Russia. Transactions can be carried out in favour of other individuals and legal entities, the press service of the bank added. “In September, transfers to Iran became available to Sberbank clients. Both p2p transfers and transfers in favour of legal entities are available to clients,” the Sberbank reported. So far, it is understood that transfers are sent in RUB to privately-owned Pasargad Bank in Tehran. The standard commission for international transfers is 1% of the amount, it added.
8.1.8 Bank news
The net profit of Russian’s second biggest lender VTB Bank amounted to 35.6bn rubles in July and 325.4bn rubles in January–July, close to a profit of 327bn rubles in the entire 2021, as calculated under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), Deputy CEO Dmitry Pyanov told reporters on August 31. In July, 13.4bn rubles was sent to formation of reserves, Pyanov also said. VTB Group expects a record high profit of 400bn rubles for the entire 2023 despite a hike of the central bank’s key rate, he added. Pyanov said that VTB expects the key rate of 12% will persist for a long time, and is unlikely to be adjusted no earlier than in the middle of 2024. He also said that transferring of United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC) under VTB’s trust management as well as VTB’s exit from the capital of real estate developer PIK Group will not influence the banking group’s financials. VTB will not pay the windfall income tax as it had a 613bn ruble loss in 2022, Pyanov said.
Car maker AvtoVAZ has launched Auto Finance Bank based on RN Bank bought from alliance Renault-Nissan, the producer said on September 5. "SC AvtoVAZ announces the end of the necessary legal procedures to launch a new bank in Russia, SC Avto Finance Bank (created on the basis of RN Bank, which AvtoVAZ bought in the summer of 2023). The strategy of the bank has now been extended significantly," the statement read. AvtoVAZ CEO Maxim Sokolov said that the bank would aim at raising the retail loan portfolio seven times by 2030. The bank would also finance component suppliers for the Russian car industry, the company said.
Chinese banks have significantly increased their financial support for Russian banks and provided of billions dollars in funding after the Russian system was cut off from the SWIFT messaging service a few days after the invasion of Ukraine, the Financial Times reported on September 4.
Initially shy of working with Russian banks, afraid of bring down US secondary sanctions on themselves, the increased business with four of China's largest banks is seen as part of Beijing broader strategy to promote the use of yuan international as an alternative to the US dollar.
Data analyzed by the Kyiv School of Economics for the Financial Times reveals that China's exposure to Russia's banking sector surged by four times
95 RUSSIA Country Report October 2023 www.intellinews.com