Russia’s banks are still facing huge challenges. In this latest ranking based on 2015 results, 35 of the top 100 financial institutions were loss-making in fiscal 2015, 19 of which had still been reporting profits in the previous year. Only 41 banks reported higher profits in 2015 than in 2014, while a mere 19 institutions increased their Tier 1 capital.
But Russia’s banks are likely to see some improvement in their 2016 results and, consequentially, in next year’s ranking. According to central bank governor Elvira Nabiullina, financial institutions as a whole became more resilient to external shocks in 2016 and their capitalisation is now sufficient.
Returns bounced back in 2016, the profitability of capital and assets recovered, and on average, banks’ share of non-performing loans stopped growing, all of which suggest healthier Russian banks in our 2018 ranking.
Sberbank still on top
Sberbank dominates the sector, and despite a 14% fall in Tier 1 capital is twice the size of its nearest rival, VTB Bank. The top three Russian banks all saw earnings fall: Sberbank’s profits were down 32%, VTB’s by 79%, and Gazprombank went into losses with a dramatic 987% earnings drop.
On the positive side, some prominent Russian banks have climbed the table based on Tier 1 capital even though their profits fell. Credit Bank of Moscow has entered the top 10 in ninth place with a 17% increase in capital, while Russian Standard Bank has risen from 40th place to 19th on the back of a 74% capital uplift. UniCredit holds seventh place and was the largest foreign-owned subsidiary despite a 7% drop in Tier 1 capital.
