Sberbank CEO: No bad corporate debts stem from COVID restrictions

MOSCOW, Nov 8 (PRIME) -- The quality of corporate loans should not worsen over the latest Russian government’s COVID-19 restrictions, German Gref, CEO of the country’s top bank Sberbank, told PRIME on Monday.

President Vladimir Putin introduced non-working days from October 30 through November 7, and allowed Russia’s regions to extend the regime independently if the epidemiologic situation remain unfavorable. Several regions decided to extend the non-working days.

“It is obvious that the latest round of the anti-COVID measures will have a negative impact on the businesses of borrowers,” Gref said.

“The companies raised their debt burdens in 2020–2021 to weather the crises, they raised new debt and prolonged maturities of previous liabilities. The higher debt burdens of borrowers act as additional risks for the creditors, and banks have to analyze deals more thoroughly.”

“We pay close attention to the situation, and will support our clients if necessary. As of the moment, I see no signs that credit quality of borrowers worsen due to the worsening of the epidemiologic situation,” he said.

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