Russia’s largest lenders continue to dominate the Top 25 Central and eastern European bank rankings, helped by their strong domestic balance sheet growth and robust profitability. Regulatory interventions to loosen lending requirements and state-subsidised loan schemes catalysed this industry-wide performance in 2023.
Sberbank and VTB Bank safely hold the top two positions in the ranking, respectively, even though both lenders reported a drop in Tier 1 capital in 2023. Gazprombank’s return to the Top 1000 ranking — following the unavailability of its data last year — places it fifth in the regional table. This means seven Russian lenders are among the top 10 banks, while 12 feature in the top 25.
