MOSCOW, April 27 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's state-run
retail savings bank Sberbank on Monday posted slightly better
than expected 2008 net profit under International Financial
Reporting Standards (IFRS) that showed a decline of 8.3%,
year-on-year, to 97.7 billion rubles ($2.93 billion).
However, Sberbank's net profit slightly exceeded the 97.6
billion ruble ($2.92 billion) consensus forecast of analysts
compiled by RIA Novosti.
Sberbank, in which Russia's Central Bank holds over 60% of
voting shares, said its net profit declined in the reporting
period as the bank increased provisions for bad loans by 450%
to 97.9 billion rubles ($2.9 billion).
Sberbank also attributed the decline to losses from
securities transactions "as a result of a slump on the global
and Russian financial markets."
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