Moscow, Russia | February 2026
The Russian banking sector’s net profit for 2025 was 3.5 trillion rubles, an 8% decrease from the record 3.8 trillion rubles earned in 2024, according to a report published by the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) on February 3, 2026. The regulator stated that this result fell within its forecasted range.
In its release, the CBR attributed the decline primarily to a significant increase in the cost of risk for loan portfolios, leading financial institutions to allocate more funds to provisions for potential losses. Consequently, the sector’s average return on equity (ROE) decreased to 18%, down from 23% in the previous year. Despite the overall profit reduction, core revenue streams showed growth: net interest income increased by 14% year-on-year to 7.6 trillion rubles, while net fee and commission income rose by 8% to 2.4 trillion rubles.
Financial results varied significantly among individual institutions. Sberbank, the nation’s largest lender, reported a net profit of 1.69 trillion rubles for 2025 under Russian Accounting Standards (RAS) and has publicly stated it is targeting further profit growth in 2026. In contrast, the Moscow Credit Bank (MKB) reported a net loss of 9 billion rubles for the fourth quarter of 2025. The bank cited a substantial increase in its stock of non-performing loans as the direct cause for the quarterly loss.
Looking forward, the CBR has forecast a sector profit between 3.1 and 3.6 trillion rubles for 2026. Andrei Kostin, Chief Executive Officer of VTB Bank, has identified raising new capital to meet evolving regulatory requirements as the primary challenge facing Russian banks in the coming year. The financial outlook for 2026 is also anticipated to be influenced by the trajectory of the CBR’s key interest rate, which was lowered to 16.00% per annum in December 2025 following a period of monetary tightening.
References
- Interfax. “Russian banks see net profit fall to 3.5 trln rubles in 2025 from 3.8 trln rubles a year earlier – CBR.” Interfax.com, 3 Feb. 2026, https://interfax.com/newsroom/top-stories/115930/. This source provides the official sector-wide profit figures for 2024 and 2025 as reported by the Central Bank of Russia, along with the regulator’s commentary on the reasons for the decline.
- RBC. “ЦБ: за 2025 год банки заработали 3,5 триллиона рублей.” RBC.ru, 3 Feb. 2026, https://www.rbc.ru/finances/03/02/2026/698123a49a79474fc6a9000c. This report from a major Russian business news outlet independently confirms the CBR’s data on the sector’s 2025 net profit, offering additional context and verification.
- The Moscow Times. “Credit Bank of Moscow Posts Rare Loss as Bad Loans Surge.” TheMoscowTimes.com, 5 Feb. 2026, https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2026/02/05/credit-bank-of-moscow-posts-rare-loss-as-bad-loans-surge-a91869. This article details the specific financial result of Moscow Credit Bank (MKB), reporting its Q4 2025 net loss and linking it directly to a rise in bad loans.
- Reuters via Yahoo Finance. “Russian banks’ main challenge in 2026 will be raising capital, VTB CEO says.” Yahoo.com, 1 Dec. 2025, https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/russian-banks-main-challenge-2026-110807500.html. This source quotes VTB CEO Andrei Kostin identifying capital raising as the principal task for Russian banks in the upcoming year, providing forward-looking expert analysis.
- Bank of Russia. “Key rate.” Cbr.ru, accessed February 2026, https://www.cbr.ru/eng/dkp/key_rate/. The official page of the Central Bank of Russia provides the factual history of its key interest rate decisions, including the cut to 16.00% in December 2025.
- TASS Russian News Agency. “Russian banking sector’s net profit drops 8% in 2025 — Central Bank.” TASS.com, 3 Feb. 2026, https://tass.com/economy/1768515. This state-owned news agency report provides another official confirmation of the sector’s 2025 financial results and the CBR’s stated causes for the profit decrease.
