Every 1 per cent cut in central bank interest rates gives Russia’s VTB Bank an extra 20 billion roubles ($250 million) in net profit, CFO Dmitry Pyanov told Reuters, which benefits the government as the state-owned lender plans to distribute 50 per cent of its profits via dividends – half of it to the state.
Russia’s benchmark interest rate remains extremely high at 20 per cent, discouraging borrowers and hurting
