Despite a number of stories about how banks block user accounts, considering card transactions to be suspicious, most Russians trust their money to financial institutions. However, as the saying goes, "trust but verify." And Forbes magazine experts checked the reliability of the 100 most popular banks in the Russian Federation. They did this by examining data from international and Russian rating companies. In addition, a bank ranked in the top 100 in terms of reliability should have assets of over ten billion rubles, and the share of individual deposits in it should be more than 3% of liabilities.
The leaders of the list are banks with credit ratings not lower than BBB- and BB +, according to the agency Fitch Ratings.
13. "Russian capital"
Assets - 364.6 billion rubles
The rating of the most reliable Russian banks "long-liver" opens, operating since 1993. Its branches, offices and cash desks are located in 31 regions of the Russian Federation.
Compared to 2017, Russian Capital has made significant progress in the Forbes ranking. Last year, he was only 23rd in the top 100.
The bank's reliability is evidenced by the fact that the Central Bank has included Rossiyskiy Kapital in the number of credit institutions that have the right to work with enterprises of strategic importance.
12. Rosselkhozbank
Assets - 3,222 billion rubles
All one hundred percent of the shares of this bank belong to the Russian state. The specialization of Rosselkhozbank is clear from its name. This is financing and lending to participants in the agro-industrial complex.
In early 2018, the bank entered the top three in terms of loans issued. Its mortgage portfolio exceeds 185 billion rubles.
11. "Alfa-Bank"
Assets - 2 847 billion rubles
It is the largest private bank in Russia in terms of customer funds, loan portfolio and total capital.
The client base of Alfa-Bank includes over 14 million individuals and 381 thousand corporate clients. The positions of this financial institution in the Russian banking market are very strong. She is the regional partner of the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
And in 2018, Alfa-Bank began issuing an installment card "Instead of Money", with free service. The issue of the card itself is also free.
10. Gazprombank
Assets - 5 530 billion rubles
One of the largest and oldest Russian banks serves the country's most important economic sectors, from gas and oil to nuclear, chemical and transportation. The number of his clients numbers over 5 million individuals and about 45 thousand legal entities.
9. "Intesa"
Assets - 58.7 billion rubles
Until the beginning of 2010 this bank was called “KMB Bank”. It is a subsidiary of the European banking group Intesa Sanpaolo - the largest in Italy in terms of loans issued.
The main activity of the bank is lending and opening of deposits of representatives of medium and small businesses, as well as large corporate clients. However, "Intez" also serves a lot of individuals. The bank's representative offices operate in 22 regions of Russia.
8. "Bank of China"
Assets - 30.1 billion rubles
This "daughter" of the Chinese Bank of China, controlled by the government of the Celestial Empire.Its offices operate in Moscow, as well as in the Far East (Khabarovsk and Vladivostok). The bank specializes in export-import operations between Russia and China. However, it offers other services to both individuals and legal entities. The Bank of China is also a member of the deposit insurance system.
If you were looking for where to open a card in order to pay in yuan when traveling to China, then you will not find it better than the Bank of China.
7. VTB
Assets - 9 808 billion rubles
It is not only one of the most reliable banks in the Russian Federation, but also one of the most profitable in terms of mortgage rates. Until the end of March 2018, VTB offers mortgage rates of 8.8% per annum. The promotion is called "More meters - less rate" and is valid when purchasing real estate with an area of 65 sq. m. (inclusive). The total mortgage portfolio of the bank amounted to 1.12 trillion. rubles.
Moreover, VTB holds a 29% stake in Magnit, one of the most expensive public companies in Russia.
6. "Nordea"
Assets - 174 billion rubles
This credit institution, which has been serving the population of Russia since 2006, is represented mainly in Moscow. Also, its branches operate in 12 Russian cities.
It is not the first time that Nordea has been included in the list of the most reliable banks according to Forbes. In 2013, he was among the top three.
The main beneficiary of Nordea is the Swedish Nordea Bank AB.
In 2017, the media reported that the bank was going to leave Russia. In January last year, he sold his retail portfolio to Sovcombank for 16 billion rubles. However, there is no information yet that the Swedish group has managed to find a buyer for its asset.
5. Citibank
Assets - 471.3 billion rubles
This commercial bank is part of Citigroup Corporation. The first Citibank branch was opened in Russia in 1992. Currently, there are 50 Citibank branches in the country, and its clients include government agencies, large domestic and foreign companies. In terms of the number of corporate clients, Citibank is one of the first in Russia.
In recent years, Citibank has been reducing the number of its branches and, according to its head, plans to do so in the future. The main focus is on telecommuting with clients.
4. "Sberbank"
Assets - 23 806 billion rubles
Let, according to Forbes, the well-known "green bank" took only the fourth place in the rating of the stability of Russian banks in 2018, but it the most reliable according to the Central Bank... In one thing he has no equal - in the number of branches opened in the country. There are over 16 thousand of them in 83 constituent entities of the Russian Federation.
And 70% of the population of Russia keep their deposits in Sberbank.
In addition to its home country, Sberbank is actively expanding its presence in other countries. Its representations are not only in the states of the former USSR, but also in the Czech Republic, Germany, China, India and other countries.
3. "Raiffeisenbank"
Assets - 879.5 billion rubles
The head of the top three most reliable Russian banks in 2018 is a subsidiary of the large Austrian group Raiffeisen Bank International. It has been present in Russia since 1996 and is a universal financial institution serving both private and corporate clients.
During its existence, the bank has received various awards, including being named "The best foreign bank in Russia", "The best deposit bank" and "The best retail bank in Russia".
In 2013, the Raiffeisenbank ATM network was merged with the UniCredit Bank network. And in June 2016, the same operation was carried out with the Binbank ATM network.
There are 52 branches and 179 offices of Raiffeisenbank in Russia.
2. "Unicredit Bank"
Assets - 1218.6 billion rubles
It is the largest bank with foreign participation in Russia. One hundred percent of the voting shares of Unicredit Bank belong to the Italian UniCredit Group.
It is also one of the oldest banks in Russia, operating in the country since 1989. Now in different cities of Russia there are 104 subdivisions of the network, which serve over 1.94 million individuals.
1. "Rosbank"
Assets - 957.7 billion rubles
Last year, Sberbank was the king among reliable banks in the Russian Federation. However, this year "the power has changed" and Rosbank was named the leader.
According to Forbes, the most reliable Russian bank is 99.5% controlled by the international financial conglomerate Societe Generale. A wide network of branches (there are more than 600 of them throughout the country), as well as remote channels, allow Rosbank to provide its services to over 3 million individuals. And the deposit portfolio of small business "Rosbank" at the end of 2017 grew by 43%.
The top three leaders in the rating are subsidiaries of foreign banks. Compared to top 100 reliable Russian banks in 2017 in the current list, the number of private banks has decreased. But the number of state players increased by one (5 versus 4 last year). All banks from the top 13 are currently very reliable and you can store your deposits in them without fear that one unhappy day they will disappear along with the bank.
Forbes full list of reliable banks in Russia (top 100)
