Reuters exclusively reported that Russia’s second biggest bank VTB won’t necessarily see 2022 net profit match this year’s expected record high as sharp rises in interest rates reduce margins. Chief Executive Andrey Kostin told Reuters that one-off factors, including the sale of VTB’s 17.3% stake in food retailer Magnit, would help drive profit growth this year. He also said that the bank will remain the controlling shareholder of grains business Demetra for at least another three years and could then consider floating it in an IPO. The state-controlled bank became the largest operator of Russia’s grain export infrastructure and a major grains trader after a series of acquisitions in recent years. It said in 2019 that it planned to expand its grains business further and then exit.
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