PRESS: Russia has no plans to cut stakes in VTB, Sberbank below 50%

MOSCOW, Jan 10 (PRIME) -- The Russian government is not discussing reduction of stakes in top two banks, Sberbank and VTB, below 50% plus one share, Deputy Finance Minister Alexei Moiseyev told newspaper Izvestia in an interview released on Tuesday.

“These banks are in different situations. The privatization of VTB which is stipulated by the plan envisages retention of the state interest at a level of 50% plus one share. We support the position of the Federal State Property Management Agency which said that reduction of the stake in both banks below 50% must be done in a coordinated manner. At this stage, reduction of the government’s stake in these two banks below the controlling one is not being discussed,” Moiseyev said.

The Russian government earlier said that privatization of a 10.9% minus one share interest in VTB was planned for 2017 with an estimated budget revenue amounting to 95.5 billion rubles. CEO Andrei Kostin said that privatization in the current conditions is undesirable and offered to purchase OFZ government bonds instead for a sum equivalent to the planned revenue.

Privatization of Sberbank is not planned to happen in the near future, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said earlier.

(59.8961 rubles – U.S. $1)

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