A bank closely linked to oil major Rosneft has become the first among Russia\u2019s top 10 lenders by assets to post a net loss, highlighting mounting strains in the country\u2019s banking sector.<\/p>\n
Credit Bank of Moscow (MKB), Russia\u2019s seventh-largest bank by assets and holder of around 700 billion rubles ($9.1 billion) in household deposits, reported a net loss of 9 billion rubles ($117 million) in the fourth quarter of 2025, Interfax reported, citing the bank\u2019s financial statements.<\/p>\n
Most of the losses were recorded in December, when the bank posted an 8.2-billion-ruble ($106.6 million) loss.<\/p>\n
Despite the late-year setback, MKB remained profitable for 2025 overall, though net profit fell to 21.1 billion rubles ($274.3 million), a\u00a0one-third decline from 2024.<\/p>\n
The bank\u2019s problems emerged in mid-year. Between January and September, the volume of overdue loans on its balance sheet surged<\/a> by 700% to 668 billion rubles ($8.7 billion), equivalent to 28% of its loan portfolio.<\/p>\n According to a source cited<\/a> by the Kommersant business daily, a Central Bank audit uncovered problems at MKB, prompting a change in the bank\u2019s senior management.<\/p>\n Russia\u2019s banking sector as a whole ended the year in profit with earnings of 3.5 trillion rubles ($45.5 billion), though this was down 300 billion rubles ($3.9 billion) from 2024 due to rising credit losses.<\/p>\n Central Bank data show that 11.2% of corporate loans \u2014 worth 10.4 trillion rubles ($135.2 billion) \u2014 and 6.1% of retail loans, totalling 2.3 trillion rubles ($29.9 billion), were classified as problematic as of the end of October.<\/p>\n Payment defaults affecting defense manufacturers, metals producers, construction firms and even oil and gas companies have effectively triggered<\/a> a banking crisis in Russia, according to experts at the government-linked Center for Macroeconomic Analysis and Short-Term Forecasting (CMASF).<\/p>\n The crisis is unfolding in a \u201clatent form,\u201d CMASF said, as banks restructure troubled loans and the state dominates the financial system.<\/p>\n Last year, state-owned banks received 1.02 trillion rubles ($13.3 billion) from the National Wealth Fund, which CMASF described as an \u201cemergency recapitalization.\u201d<\/p>\n Founded by billionaire Roman Avdeev, Moscow Credit Bank entered Rosneft\u2019s orbit in 2017, when it was on the brink of bankruptcy along with several other lenders from Moscow\u2019s so-called \u201cbanking ring,\u201d including FC Otkritie, Binbank and Promsvyazbank.<\/p>\n