Russian banks cut past-due company-credit debt to 4.85%
MOSCOW. May 11 (Interfax) - Russian banks, not counting Sberbank of Russia , had as of May 1 reduced the level of past-due loans to companies to 4.85% from 4.91% of overall loans on April 1, and that of past-due loans to private borrowers to 8.25% from 8.5%, head of the Central Bank's bank regulation and oversight department Alexei Simanovsky told reporters on Wednesday.
Combined bank loan-impairment provisions (not counting Sberbank's) decreased 0.4% in April to 1.509 trillion rubles.
Reserves as a percentage of assets declined to 6.06% as of May 1 (excluding Sberbank), down from 6.11% on April 1, but up slightly from 6.05% on January 1.
Lending to non-financial organizations increased 3.8% in January-April (including 1.5% in April) and lending to individuals rose 5.7% (2.9%).
Russian banks are on track to increase their portfolios 12%-15% in 2011. However, the Central Bank forecasts that the pace of lending will accelerate over the course of the year and loan portfolios will grow 20%-25% for the full year.
"It is important that there is no boom in lending. If growth is 35%-40%, there is a chance that the banks might fall into the same trap they did before the crisis," Simanovsky said.
Bank in Russia, excluding Sberbank, saw individual deposits move up by 2.2%. Simanovsky said that the rates of deposit growth and interest rate remain one of the main areas of attention for the CB. "I can't say that the banks are acting aggressively in raising deposits but there are some players who are doing that," he said.
He added that Russia's top-10 banks are now boosting their rates of deposit growth, which is significantly above the market trend. "Not only the high rates on bank deposits are worrying but also those that are raising deposits well above the market trend," he said
The CB is directing its attention to banks that are boosting deposit growth by 35%-40% annually. "Their rates [interest] are not very high, the average market level, but, on the converse, they are raising deposits at a rates of 35%-40% a year. This has attracted our attention," he added.
If the CB sees a bank's policy for raising funds as excessive or too aggressive, its recommendations include suspension of advertising for such products, Simanovsky said.
The CB expects deposits in Russian banks to increase by 20%-25% for this year.