The net profit of Russian banks in February decreased by 6% – Kommersant

The net profit of the banking sector in February amounted to 275 billion rubles, decreasing by 6% year-on-year and by 22% month-on-month, as indicated in the Central Bank review (.pdf). Return on equity also fell to 23% compared to 30% in January and 29% in February 2023.

In February, the main profit of banks decreased by 90 billion rubles, to 210 billion rubles. In January, profit was about 300 billion rubles. The regulator attributes the decrease in profits to a small increase in reserves for corporate loans by 10 billion rubles, an increase in operating expenses by 37 billion rubles, and also to the fact that there are fewer calendar days in February. For this reason, bank income decreased by 23 billion rubles, or 4%.

The share of profitable banks in February decreased from 90% to 77%, and quantitatively decreased from 292 in January to 248. The regulator emphasized that there are no systemic risks for the banking sector, since the size of unprofitable banks is insignificant. Profit figures are higher than the Central Bank’s expectations due to the very low cost of risk for corporate loans.

Alexandra Goroshilova