VTB needs up to 700 bln rubles to meet capital adequacy buffers in 2027-2028 - bank's head

MOSCOW. April 22 (Interfax) - VTB needs up to 700 billion rubles of additional capital to meet the Basel capital adequacy buffers in 2027-2028, the bank's head Andrei Kostin said during a business dialogue with clients.

The Central Bank of Russia has been gradually increasing the minimum values of buffers to capital adequacy ratios since 2024.

"This means that in the coming years, especially 2027-2028, we will need to invest up to 700 billion rubles in capital to implement these buffers. And you know, my position on this is quite negative. I believe that the increase of such buffers could proceed at a slower pace," he said.

"Although, of course, the reliability of the capital base is a positive factor. It also had an effect in the last four years in particular, when banks were indeed required to undergo quite serious trials. And, of course, having a good capital base helped the banking sector to endure. Nevertheless, the increase in capital requirements is quite large. Today, the capital market is rather complicated. We have no foreign investors; we certainly have great competition between the capital market and the bank deposit market. But we still have heroes, like Yevgeny [Yurchenko, the former CEO of Svyazinvest] sitting there, who bought a huge number of our shares," Kostin said.