Kostin spoke about the “tangible” losses of VTB as a result of sanctions

As a result of the introduction of anti-Russian sanctions by Western countries, the bank VTB suffered significant losses, now the company operates only in the ruble zone, declared Chairman of the Board VTB Andrey Kostin to the French newspaper Les Echos.

“We have suffered tangible losses as a result of the sanctions. During the first weeks after the imposition of sanctions, our clients took $26 billion from their accounts. A high refinancing rate was set. The fact that our assets in the West were stolen is a serious blow,” Kostin said, answering the question of whether the shock from Western sanctions was stronger than expected.

According to the president of the bank, VTB will return to profitability this year, as “much has been done in the banking sector: capitalization has been increased in accordance with Basel III recommendations, our own infrastructure has been created.”

Kostin said that VTB is not trying to keep its activities in Europe and with European clients in Russia.

“We are a sanctions bank and today we work only in the ruble zone, with Russian companies. We lost our bank in Germany. Even though it still bears the name VTBit is out of our control,” the VTB board chairman said, adding that the bank was left in “good condition.”

The Russian bank also offered the leadership of the European Central Bank (ECB) to transfer European assets to the Russian Federation, if there are “problems” with them, in exchange for assets VTB in Germany. According to Kostin, Western banks showed interest in this, but European governments did not support the initiative.

VTB has not opened a single office in other countries for a year, but the possibilities are being explored, although expansion is difficult even in Africa, the head of the bank said. In particular, the branch in Angola suffered from Western measures, it will have to be closed. Now the bank is focused on work in Russia and countries with which Moscow trades in large volumes, for example, in China, Kostin said. The PRC branch is small, but it is expected to grow.

“The yuan, having caught up with the dollar and the euro, will become for Russia the currency in which settlements will be carried out, perhaps even in trade with other countries. I don’t want to pay anything in dollars anymore,” he explained.

After the start of the special operation in Ukraine VTB fell under US blocking sanctions along with other Russian banks. Similar measures against the state bank were introduced by the UK and the EU.

The European Union has also decided to turn off VTB from the international interbank system SWIFT. In mid-December last year, the press service of the bank stated that VTB has been living under sanctions since February 2022, so he has already learned to adapt to this. When the US imposed restrictions on companies affiliated with VTB, the bank called this decision politicized.