Sberbank ready to lend to Russian oil and gas sector in yuan, in talks with CBR on reducing provisions on deposits

MOSCOW. Oct 12 (Interfax) - Sberbank is ready to lend to oil and gas companies in yuan, but it needs support from the Central Bank in the form of reduced mandatory provisions on deposits, the lender's first deputy CEO Alexander Vedyakhin said during Russian Energy Week.

"What we're seeing now, too, is demand for yuan. As we are moving into China, let's lend in yuan. Exports are coming from there. We as Sber are ready. We need a little support here, since the yuan is not produced out of thin air, it is either bought on the financial market or we raise it from customers. The good news is that we have exponential growth in yuan deposits. This is very good," he said.

"We are ready to issue a part of our loans in yuan, the rates in yuan are normal. We need a little support from the Central Bank to reduce mandatory provisions on deposits, then the rate for recipients of loans will be lower. We are in an open and clear dialogue with the Central Bank," he said.

According to Vedyakhin, banks have every opportunity to continue to actively finance the oil and gas sector. "We are currently considering new projects in the oil and gas sector worth about 3 trillion rubles," he said.