Mega-losses of the mega-regulator – Newspaper Kommersant No. 54 (7499) of 30.03.

In the midst of the annual financial disclosure campaign launched by credit institutions in February, the regulator, the Bank of Russia, published its own final document. Of course, the most attractive line was the one that speaks of the financial result. And she did not let financial journalists down. The loss of the Central Bank reached a record 722 billion rubles, exceeding the total for the previous four years.

Of course, for the Central Bank, which has the right to issue money, this result does not bring any catastrophe. For example, in 2017 and 2018, its losses exceeded 430 billion rubles. The regulator has a special status, it is not a commercial organization that aims to make a profit (but when there is a profit, the Bank of Russia sends 75% to the federal budget).

For the Ministry of Finance, the loss of the Central Bank did not come as a surprise – they did not expect profits in 2022 from the mega-regulator. In addition, a number of regulators from foreign countries also suffered losses following the results of the problematic last year. For example, the loss of the National Bank of Switzerland reached 132.5 billion CHF, which is fifteen times higher than the losses of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation.

As explained in the Central Bank itself, the indicators of the annual balance sheet and financial performance in 2022 “were formed in the context of a significant increase in sanctions pressure on the financial system, the Bank of Russia and the real sector.” These processes were accompanied by “high volatility in the financial markets, the weakening of the ruble, increased inflationary pressure and a drop in business activity.”

At the same time, among the reasons for such a significant negative financial result, the Central Bank indicated the loss from the sale of FC Otkritie and the Ministry of Bank. In total, the financial recovery of credit institutions resulted in a loss of 382.2 billion rubles for the Bank of Russia, despite the fact that FC Otkritie was sold to the VTB Group for 340 billion rubles.

But in addition to the reorganization losses, the Central Bank incurred expenses “from the unrealized revaluation at fair value of debt obligations of foreign issuers” in the amount of 315 billion rubles. “due to higher yields and lower prices on the said debt.” Based on the report of the Central Bank, it is also clear that net expenses from operations with securities, foreign currency and precious metals amounted to 670.8 billion rubles, while last year, on the contrary, there was an income of over 200.5 billion rubles.

While the bankers do not indulge journalists with detailed financial reports, against their background, the Central Bank document looks the most detailed. At the same time, not all systemically important banks have disclosed the results of the year. In particular, we are waiting for figures from VTB, Alfa-Bank, Rosselkhozbank, Gazprombank, PSB and others. Will any of them be able to show a more impressive result than the Central Bank, it will become known in the coming days.