MOSCOW, March 26. /TASS/. Net profit of Russia’s banking sector decreased by 22% in February month-on-month to 275 bln rubles ($2.9 bln), whereas in annual terms it was almost flat, according to files released by the Bank of Russia.

"Net profit of the sector amounted to 275 bln rubles, which is 79 bln rubles, or 22%, lower than in January (354 bln rubles ), but comparable with profit for February 2023 (293 bln rubles)," the Central Bank said. Overall profit is so far higher than projections (2.3-2.8 trillion rubles in 2024, around 200 bln rubles on average per month) due to a very low cost of risk on corporate loans (around 0.2% in February in annual terms), the regulator added.

The main profit of lenders in February decreased by 90 bln rubles to 210 bln rubles, including as a result of a small creation of additional provisions on corporate loans by 10 bln rubles, growth of operating expenditures and a decline in regular income, the Bank of Russia noted.

"The number of profit-making banks went down to 248 from 292 in January, while their share from the total number of banks - to around 77% from 90%. However, it does not carry any systemic risks from the sector in general as the scale of loss of unprofitable banks is minor (-14 bln rubles), while their total share in the sector’s assets stands at around 2%," according to files.