Russia will manage to avoid total sanctions under the Iranian scenario, VTB President and Chairman Andrey Kostin said addressing the Fifth International Financial University Forum ‘How to Break Into the Top Five of the Leading World Economies’ on November 27.
“The [national] financial sector is under great pressure from the United States. Yet, Russian banks are successfully coping with the arising problems, although the sanctions are having their effect, of course. Currently, the US is considering introduction of new packages of sanctions”, Kostin said, adding that the total sanctions are not expected.
According to him, Russia is taking efforts to successfully resist the sanctions. The banking sector is showing a growth, with Russian banks’ total profit expected at between RUR 1.3 tln ($19.4 bln) and RUR 1.7 tln this year. The country’s economy has a potential for growth, Kostin said.
“To develop the national economy, we should create a greater freedom for business. It is necessary to carry out demonopolization and reduce the government’s stake in the economy”, he emphasized.
He noted that the government’s stake has been increasing due to many enterprises seeking additional finances and asking the government for assistance during the crisis. According to Kostin, some state investment are inefficient as they lead to corruption, and for this reason, it is necessary to develop public private partnership.
Kostin believes that development of new technologies can have a positive effect on the growth of Russia’s economy.
“New information technologies should be introduced in various business sectors”, VTB chief concluded.