BERLIN, November 23. /TASS/. The most critical phase in Russia’s banking sector development is over, Chief Executive Officer of Russia’s Sberbank said in an interview with German’s Handelsblatt published on Monday.

"We were in a veritable crisis, but the most critical phase is over," Gref said.

The bank managed to adapt to the situation, he said responding to the question regarding the impact of Western sanctions on Sberbank’s operations.

"We have now weathered the worst, and the situation has normalized completely," Sberbank CEO added.

Meanwhile, Sberbank believes the situation in Russia’s banking sector is a large-scale crisis, Gref said earlier. The next year will also be a challenging one, the banker said.

Sberbank is working very closely with Asian partners, Gref said. "Now we are borrowing money primarily in China, though not as much as we would like to… And if the sanctions continue, we will have no alternative to China," he added.

Sberbank’s profits "will be down by 25 to 30% this year," the banker said. "However, we will certainly be more profitable in 2016 than today," he added.