Russian banks up net profit 19% to 1.012 trln rubles in 2012 - Central Bank
MOSCOW. Jan 22 (Interfax) - Russian banks generated 19.3% more net profit in 2012 than they did in 2011, at 1.012 trillion rubles, the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) reported on its website.
In January, First Deputy Chairman of the CBR Alexei Simanovsky said, citing preliminary data, that profit in the Russian banking sector topped 1 trillion rubles last year.
Simanovsky also did not rule out that bank profit might remain at last year's level this year, noting that banks capitalized roughly 60% of their profit last year.
"This is not a low figure, but we would like it to be even higher," Simanovsky said, adding that he considers the optimal profit capitalization level to be 70%-75%.
In December, banking sector assets rose 3.9%, providing for 18.9% growth in 2012, compared to 23.1% growth the year before.
Funds in correspondent accounts and lenders' deposits at the CBR, which traditionally rise at the end of the financial year, made a substantial contribution to December's growth. Balances in such accounts skyrocketed by 60% and 130%, respectively, the CBR's statement said.
The tendency for faster growth in retail lending (2.3%, compared to 0.8% in lending to non-financial organizations) persisted in December. For 2012 as a whole, the retail portfolio expanded by 39.4%, and the corporate portfolio widened by 12.7% (35.9% and 26%, respectively, for 2011).
The aggregate loan portfolio increased by 1.2% in December and by 19.1% for 2012 as a whole, compared to 28.2% in 2011.
Arrears on both corporate and retail loans fell in December. The share of arrears in the corporate loan portfolio decreased from 4.9% to 4.6%, and in the retail loan portfolio it was down from 4.4% to 4%.
The securities portfolio at Russian banks edged up by 1.6% in December. Investments in debt securities rose by 1.9%, and investments in promissory notes jumped by 11.3%. Meanwhile, investments in equity securities were down by 5.2%.
Derivative financial instruments from which economic gain is expected, as reflected on the balance sheet, increased by 2.5% in December. Derivatives from which economic losses are anticipated dropped 14.3%.
Client funds served as the key source of expansion in the resource base in December, the CBR said.
Retail deposits grew 6.1% in December and 20% for 2012 as a whole, compared to 20.9% in 2011.
Growth of funds in settlement and other accounts was also significant in December, at 4.5%. Corporate deposits were up 4.4%.
Funds borrowed from the CBR experienced a marked drop - 5.7% - in December.