Sberbank expects high CBR rate to slow corporate lending - first deputy CEO

MOSCOW. Oct 12 (Interfax) - Sberbank expects the growth of corporate lending to slow this year given the Central Bank's high key interest rate, the leading Russian lender's first deputy CEO, Alexander Vedyakhin said.

"In 2023 we expect a slowdown in the growth of corporate lending due to the high key rate," Vedyakhin told reporters on the sidelines of Russian Energy Week.

Sberbank, which increased its corporate loan portfolio to IFRS by 11.4% to 18.608 trillion rubles in 2022, previously forecast that corporate lending would grow by 17%-19% in 2023.

Sberbank's corporate loans before provisions grew by 21% to 22.698 trillion rubles to Russian Accounting Standards in the first nine months of 2023.

Vedyakhin said that "unfriendly currencies" made up 13.2% of the corporate loan portfolio at the end of September. This figure has shrunk by half since March 2022 with loan repayment or conversion into "friendly" currencies and rubles, he said.

"In general, we are steadily reducing the share of loans in unfriendly currencies and we have managed to do a lot. Conversion of loans from unfriendly currencies is now complicated by the high exchange rate and interest rates in rubles. However, the remaining portfolio in unfriendly currencies is being serviced by borrowers on time, when due. There are no problems with this," Vedyakhin said.