Russian banks nearly double profits in first half of 2021 – central bank

The net profit of Russian lenders in January-July totaled 1.429 trillion rubles ($19.2 billion), which is nearly twice their earnings in the same period last year, the Central Bank of Russia reported.

The combined net profit for the first half of 2020 stood at 761 billion rubles.

In July 2021 alone, Russian banks earned 229 billion rubles in net profit, 13% higher than June’s profits of 204 billion rubles.

The number of profitable banks in July increased from 237 from 249.

“The profit growth among other things is attributed to the restoration of reserves because of bad debt resale,” the regulator stated in its report.

According to the central bank’s projections, Russia’s banking sector profit may exceed 2 trillion rubles by year’s end.

Among other things, the regulator noted the slowing of unsecured consumer lending growth. Corporate lending in Russia, on the other hand, accelerated to 1.5% in July, which is significantly higher than the average monthly rate in the first half of 2021.

The rate of credit restructuring in the country has stabilized in recent months and remains moderate, the central bank said. At the end of June, the regulator recommended that lenders continue restructuring loans and borrowings for citizens and SMEs until October 1, 2021 due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

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