MOSCOW Russia’s dominant lender Sberbank reported on Thursday a second-quarter profit of 418.7 billion roubles (US$4.88 billion), up 10.1% from the same period last year, boosted by a growing loan portfolio.

The state-controlled bank made a record 1.5 trillion rouble profit in 2023, a more-than fivefold increase on the previous year, as Russia’s banking sector recovered from the impact of financial sanctions over the country’s actions in Ukraine.

Sberbank, which dominates Russia’s banking sector with over 109 million retail clients, said its return on equity (ROE) was 25% in the first half of 2024, prompting it to raise its full-year ROE forecast to more than 23%, from more than 22% before.

First-half profits stood at 816.1 billion roubles, up 10.7% year on year.

Corporate loans increased 4.4% quarter on quarter and retail loans by 6.3%, chief executive officer German Gref said in a statement, also noting a surge in demand for mortgages.

Sberbank’s finance chief Taras Skvortsov told Reuters in June that profits for 2024 could exceed those of 2023. He said the bank expected to send at least US$11.6 billion in tax and dividends to Russia’s federal budget this year.

  - Reuters