The Davos World Economic Forum 2012 is more practical than the previous sessions, Andrey Kostin, a head of VTB, tells Business RT.
Davos 2012 is not about just general talks, “there are some practical discussions about new regulations for banks and the financial sector, of capital adequacy, of derivatives,” says Kostin.One of the key changes to the Forum is that this time around “both the Governments and companies know what to do. They have specific plans how to cope with the crisis,” VTB chief adds.On a banking side, the market players today know how to increase their capital adequacy. Among the major tools discussed are cutting balance sheets, selling non core assets and raising new capital, Kostin explains.VTB too, has particular plans for this year. The second largest Russian bank, is mulling another sale of its stock in 2012. This year it plans to sell another 10% of its shares, in addition to 10% it sold in 2011. However, given an expected 2012 net profit of around $3 billion, VTB feels no need to hurry with its privatization plans, Kostin adds.“At the moment we don’t desperately need new capital, we don’t have any immediate plan to do that.” According to Russia's privatization plan for 2011-2013, 35.5% minus one share of the VTB stock is to be sold, with the government currently holding 75.5% of the bank.