Moscow rules out VTB sale in 2015

VTB sale:  Russia’s state-owned VTB will not be privatised this year, Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov announced today. “We consulted and decided that this is not the best time. We will not offer VTB shares this year,” he told Interfax.  With the 10.9% sale of Alrosa completed this week and Bashneft and Rosneft being lined up for sale there were already enough deals in the pipeline, he added. “After all, we need to leave something for next year.” 
The  state property management agency Rosimushchestvo  had originally planned to sell 10.9%  of its voting shares in the state-owned bank this year, but in May VTB President Andrei Kostin suggested that the timetable might shift due to sanctions.
According to Gazprombank analyst Andrei Klapko, that the continuing recession and Western sanctions was likely to  limit the number of potential investors. The bank’s profitability had declined substantially in recent years, he added, with return on average equity (ROAE) falling from 12% in 2013 to 0.8% in late 2015. Investors have become more cautious about the Russian banking system with regard to both growth prospects and credit risk, he added.