Russian banks have faced a difficult operating environment in recent years. Economic sanctions and the low oil price have driven the country into recession, causing the rouble to plunge and curbing deal activity.
Sberbank, the country’s biggest lender as measured by capital and assets, has weathered the storm better than most. Its Tier 1 capital base, which was $30.553bn at the end of 2015, has steadily declined in recent years. However, its risk-based capital adequacy ratio hovers between 12% and 13%, and in its latest annual report (2015) recorded $4.545bn pre-tax profits.
VTB Bank is the second biggest with $18.054bn Tier 1 capital. Its capital adequacy is healthier than Sberbank’s, coming in at 14.3%, but its pre-tax profits for financial year 2015 were a disappointing $118m.
The chaser pack is led by Gazprombank, which is part of the state-controlled oil giant Gazprom. It holds $6.778bn of Tier 1 capital and has a respectable capital adequacy ratio of 14.2%, but in 2015 recorded a $732.66m pre-tax loss.
Next is Alfa Bank, the country’s biggest privately-owned bank. Like Sberbank it has endured Russia’s downturn relatively well, recording a 21.7% capital adequacy ratio and 13.44% return-on-capital. Rounding out the top five is Otkritie Financial Corporation Bank, which has $2.908bn of Tier 1 and a capital adequacy ratio of 15.74%.
All data sourced from www.thebankerdatabase.com
