Sberbank is targeting 15 percent to 20 percent growth in retail deposits this year and expects deposit rates to fall further, a bank official said Wednesday.
Sberbank enjoys a reputation as the safest bank in the country and attracted more than 600 billion rubles ($20.09 billion) in deposits from individuals in 2009.
State-controlled Sberbank, home to half of Russia's retail deposits, pays an average 6 percent annual interest rate to its individual clients, who in turn provide about 70 percent of its funding base.
"We factored in quite aggressive growth plans … 15 to 20 percent, in line with the market," Natalya Konovalova, the official in charge of Sberbank's deposit management, told a news briefing.
The funding costs are crucial for the bank's financial performance this year, as management expects it to post net profit of at least 100 billion rubles in 2010 versus 36.2 billion rubles in 2009.
"The average cost of the deposits portfolio for the bank stays at roughly 6 percent in ruble terms. Now, we suggest the market trend is toward a further decline in the deposit rates," Konovalova said.
About 37 percent of Sberbank's portfolio comprises on-call deposits and accounts that bear interest rates of between zero percent and 4 percent, she said.
The 10 largest Russian banks in terms of assets, including Sberbank, pay an average 10.87 percent on retail deposits, the latest data from the Central Bank has shown. Consumer prices rose 8.8 percent in 2009.
The Central Bank has gradually cut interest rates to record-low levels, with the current main benchmark refinancing rate at an annualized 8.5 percent, to help the economy out of its first recession in a decade.
Nevertheless the 15 percent to 20 percent growth of retail deposits that Sberbank is targeting is in line with the bank's previous forecast that its loan portfolio would grow by only 10 percent in 2010.