Russian banks lost $25 billion in first half, central bank tells RBC

(This content was produced in Russia where the law restricts coverage of Russian military operations in Ukraine.)

(Reuters) – Russia’s banks lost a combined 1.5 trillion roubles ($24.95 billion) in the first six months of 2022, a top official at Russia’s central bank said on Friday in an interview with the RBC business daily.

It is the first time the regulator has disclosed banking sector earnings since Russia sent troops into Ukraine in February.

Around two-thirds of banks’ losses related to foreign currency operations, said Dmitry Tulin, first deputy chairman of Russia’s central bank.

Tulin said there was a “more than 50% chance” that losses for the full-year would not exceed the 1.5 trillion rouble figure from the first half.

The losses were concentrated among the largest banks, Tulin said. Loss-making institutions recorded a combined 1.9 trillion rouble ($31.60 billion) loss, compared to profitable lenders that earned a combined 400 billion roubles ($6.65 billion).

The central bank does not expect a repeat of the 2014-17 banking crisis, when the regulator had to bail out several lenders and stripped banking licences from hundreds of poorly capitalised banks, Tulin said.

($1 = 60.1200 roubles)

(Reporting by Reuters)