The press service of the bank announced strong results for the first two months of 2023, highlighting a solid net profit realized under Russian accounting standards. The bank reported a figure of 225 billion rubles, underscoring the resilience and profitability of the financial institution even in a challenging market environment. This outcome reflects a combination of robust lending activity, efficient cost management, and a diversified revenue mix that reinforces the organization’s strategic position in the competitive banking landscape of Russia and beyond.
At the end of the two‑month period, the bank’s client base stood at a remarkable scale, with roughly 107 million individual customers and more than 3 million corporate clients across various sectors. This broad client reach underscores the institution’s pivotal role in household and business financing, payment services, and everyday banking. The expansive customer network is complemented by a growing confidence in the bank’s service quality, digital capabilities, and deep market penetration across key regions that are essential to a resilient, modern financial ecosystem.
The retail loan portfolio expanded by 1.4 percent, reaching 12.3 trillion rubles, driven by sustained demand for consumer and mortgage products. In February, personal lending activity reached 472 billion rubles, with approximately 250 billion rubles allocated to varying consumer financing needs. Mortgage lending also gained traction, increasing by forty‑four percent compared with January 2023, a trend that points to growing consumer willingness to invest in real estate or refinance existing obligations in a favorable rate environment. This accelerating growth in lending supports household consumption, home improvement, and long‑term asset accumulation, while illustrating the bank’s capacity to mobilize funding and transform it into productive credit.
Net interest income for the two‑month period rose by 17.5 percent year over year, totaling 336.5 billion rubles. The February performance contributed a notable 18.7 percent increase, a consequence of the expanding loan portfolio, favorable credit pricing, and disciplined balance sheet management. This strong interest income reflects the bank’s proactive approach to asset-liability management and its ability to translate market conditions into a steady stream of revenue that underpins profitability and capital maintenance.
Net fee and commission income for the same period grew by 13.9 percent year on year to 96.7 billion rubles. The expansion was supported by higher purchase volumes and evolving dynamics in the payments landscape, including card usage, merchant services, and related transactional streams. The bank’s emphasis on customer experience, secure payment processing, and innovative financial products has helped to sustain these revenue channels even as consumer behavior shifts toward digitization and cashless solutions.
In early March, the bank completed an audit of its annual financial statements in alignment with both Russian and international standards. Total capital surpassed the 5.5 trillion ruble milestone, reflecting ongoing capital growth and prudent risk management practices. On March 1, 2023, the total capital adequacy ratio rose by a modest margin to 14.9 percent, indicating a robust capital position capable of supporting continued lending activity and strategic investments. This outcome demonstrates the bank’s commitment to transparent reporting, strong governance, and the capacity to withstand economic cycles while pursuing long‑term value creation for stakeholders. The two‑month performance period shows results achieved in a competitive environment without relying on any special government incentives that might distort credit allocation or market pricing.
The reported results also signal a steady push toward sustainable profitability based on core banking activities rather than temporary or policy-driven boosts. While the market environment has involved various regulatory and macroeconomic twists, the bank’s results point to its ability to navigate volatility, maintain prudent risk controls, and deliver consistent value to clients, shareholders, and employees across a broad geographies and market segments.