High -ranking executives of some of its largest banks Russia They have held individual discussions about the possibility of seeking state rescue if the level of non -performing loans continues to worsen in the following year, according to the Bloomberg agency. In particular, according to current former officials and documents examined by Bloomberg, at least three banks that are systematically significant by the Russian Central Bank, have considered the possibility of recapitalized within the next 12 months.

As the International Agency notes, the banks They have discussed internally how to set the rescue prospect in the Central Bank, if it is necessary. This discussion arises from their assessment that the level of loan It is much worse than the official data show, according to agency sources and relevant documents.

Sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that any rescue request depends on the continued increase in the volume of red loans next year. However, they also noted that discussions are becoming more and more urgent throughout the banking industry.

On papers, the Russian banking system is in relatively good condition, with strong profits, even amid the increase in so -called non -performing business and household loans, with the central bank’s main interest rate at almost 20%record. Officially, the levels of red loans remain much lower than those recorded in previous financial crises and dealt with by the Russian authorities.

However, the central bank itself has advised Russian banks to focus on restructuring credit instead of recognizing the full extent of red loans.

Russian Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabulina downgraded the risk of a systemic crisis in an economic forum in St. Petersburg on July 2, arguing that the Russian banking system is “well capitalized” and has 8 trillion capital reserves. rubles ($ 102 billion). “As the body that oversees the banks, I say with full responsibility that these concerns are completely unfounded,” Nabulina said.

Officially, the level of red loans to corporate borrowers was 4% on April 1st, while the percentage of uninformed consumer debt with 90 days or more was 10.5%. However, top bankers have begun to sound the alarm for next year’s prospects.

“It is already clear that it will not be easy,” said Herman Gref, chief executive of the state Sberbank, Russia’s largest bank, about the prospects for the following year at the annual shareholders’ meeting last month, because the quality of the loan portfolio is needed. “I hope, as always, that we will be able to find common plans to go through these difficult times,” he added.

In VTB, the second largest Russian bank, the share of non -performing loans from individuals in the retail portfolio reached 5% in May, rising to 377 billion rubles, said Bank’s first deputy chairman Dmitriy Pianov, Vedomos. This index has increased by 1.2 percentage points since the beginning of the year. The share of red loans could reach 6% -7% by 2026, Pianov said, although he also noted that this was below the maximum 8% -10% observed in 2014-2016.

Customers are anxious for high interest rates and the percentage of red loans are increasing, although banks are currently restructuring them and have plenty of stocks, according to top executives of two systemically important Russian banks, who spoke to Bloomberg on condition of anonymity. While there are a few signs of a possible crisis so far, which could be resolved with “injections” of capital, many data is confidential and the complete picture may not be clear, one of the sources said.

Russia has previously used rescue packages and other mechanisms to recapitalize banks that were facing problems. In 2017, the Central Bank spent at least $ 1 trillion. Rubles to rescue three large private banks, Otkritie, Promsvyazbank and B & N Bank, a move that then said that it was necessary to rescue the financial system.