Sberbank is facing a shortage of long-term liquidity that may trigger "shocks" on Russia's money market similar to the squeeze seen late last year, according to Raiffeisenbank.
Russia's biggest lender is the main borrower of the Central Bank's repurchase facilities, accounting for as much as 80 percent of banks' repo liabilities as of Feb. 1, the lender said in a research note Tuesday.
The deficit resulted from faster lending growth last year and limited potential for expanding Sberbank's funding base. "A big market participant facing a liquidity shortage may cause shocks on the money market at a time of shrinking overall volume of liquidity in the system," Raiffeisenbank analysts wrote.
(Bloomberg)
