7 Dec 2009 10:46

Sberbank loan reserves total 9.8% of portfolio - Gref

MOSCOW. Dec 7 (Interfax) - Sberbank Russia has loan loss reserves equal to 9.8% of the total portfolio, CEO German Gref said at a meeting with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

The reserves are more than twice the level of overdue loans, he said.

It was reported earlier that Sberbank boosted reserves by 305 billion rubles in January-October.

Sberbank's loan portfolio has increased 0.6% a month on average in 2009, Gref said. Total loans to organizations increased 9% in the entire period, while loans to consumers fell 7%.

However, in the last two months loans to consumers have begun increasing, he said.

Sberbank has fully restored all types of lending existing before the onset of the crisis, he said.

The bank is providing foreign currency loans to consumers at interest rates equal to pre-crisis levels. Sberbank has reduced loan interest rates by two percentage points in recent times, he said.