VTB Chief Urges More Bank Closures
The head of VTB complained about the difficult life and called on the Central Bank to close more banks. The Bank of Russia should return to the practice of mass license revocations for banks in order to reduce their number in the country.
Consensus
- Andrey Kostin, head of VTI, called on the Central Bank to continue reducing bank numbers.
- Kostin cited difficult conditions and intense competition in the banking industry.
- The number of banks in Russia has decreased significantly over the past decades.
- As of October 1, there are 300 banks operating in Russia.
- Of these, 210 have universal licenses and 90 have basic licenses.
- The Central Bank has previously reduced the number of banks through license revocations.
Points of divergence
- The volume of problem loans on bank balance sheets reached 13% of the portfolio by September 1. — tg_moscowtimes_ru
- Clients have withdrawn nearly 3 trillion rubles in cash since the beginning of the year. — tg_moscowtimes_ru
- The number of banks dropped from over 900 in the early 2010s to 524 by 2018. — tg_moscowtimes_ru
- Before the war, there were 368 credit organizations in Russia, including 333 banks. — tg_moscowtimes_ru
- Kostin said 'we are very hard pressed' and described the situation as extremely difficult. — tg_moscowtimes_ru
- Kostin noted that competition is especially intense among the largest banks in Moscow. — vedomosti
- Vladimir Verkhoshinsky, head of Alfa-Bank, also called the number of banks in Russia excessive and predicted that non-top-20 banks would either lose their licenses or exit the market. — vedomosti
Coverage (2 sources)
- «We are very difficult». VTB head complained about difficult life and called on Central Bank to close more banks — The Moscow Times
- Kostin called on the Central Bank to continue reducing the number of banks in Russia — Ведомости