Combined profits in banking sector totaled 367 bln rubles in 9 mths - Melikyan
MOSCOW. Oct 27 (Interfax) - Combined profits in the banking sector continue to rise, reaching 367 billion rubles through the first nine months of 2010, First Deputy Central Bank Chairman Gennady Melikyan told Interfax.
"The profits totaled 367 billion rubles in the first nine months of the year compared with 31 billion rubles in the same period last year. Thus, the net profits rose more than tenfold," he said.
However, "a significant number of banks are posting losses," he said. "The banks are forming into separate categories. That is normal and indicates that the crisis has done its job," Melikyan said.
One hundred seventeen banks posted losses in the nine months. That includes banks currently undergoing rescues, he said.
"We are carefully analyzing information on the loss-making banks. The results of that work have compelled us in particular to send proposals to the State Duma and the Finance Ministry on extending until July 1, 2011 the moratorium on prohibiting banks from taking deposits from the public," he said.
It was reported earlier that the moratorium on excluding banks from the deposit insurance system was established on January 1, 2009 and is set to expire on January 1, 2011. It allows banks to violate standards they must otherwise meet in order to remain members of the deposit insurance system (and thus eligible to take deposits from the public), including indicators based on assets, capital, earnings and liquidity and a qualitative, transparency indicator.
Prior to establishment of the moratorium, a bank that posted losses three months in a row could not accept new deposits from the public.
It was reported earlier that the banks had combined profits totaling 320.1 billion rubles in the first eight months of the year. Central Bank Chairman Sergei Ignatyev forecast in October that combined profits in the banking sector for the full year would reach 500 billion rubles. "In terms of profits, we are approaching the level of the record year 2007," Ignatyev said.