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VTB is Russia's second-largest bank by assets and the core of the financial group of the same name. It grew out of the Soviet Vneshtorgbank, which handled foreign trade settlements, and to this day it is noticeably more "corporate" than its retail competitors. Its shares trade on the Moscow Exchange under the ticker VTBR.
Like any bank, VTB earns on its interest margin and on fees, but the structure of its balance sheet is tilted towards large business: a considerable part of the loan book consists of loans to industrial holdings and to infrastructure and state projects. Such loans are larger and cheaper to service, but the risk in them is concentrated: the position of a single big borrower can noticeably shift the result of a quarter.
The bank developed its retail business later than its competitors and largely through acquisitions — the merger of Bank of Moscow, VTB24 and then a number of regional banks expanded the client base faster than organic growth would have allowed. The downside of this strategy is the constant work of integrating disparate systems and cultures.
A separate line is the investment business: brokerage services, asset management, the arranging of bond issues. It brings in fee income that is less closely tied to the credit cycle.
Lending to large companies, work with state programmes, arranging debt and equity offerings. Historically the bank's main division.
Mortgages, consumer loans, cards, deposits. It developed later than at competitors and grew noticeably thanks to the banks that were merged in.
Settlement services, working capital lending and payroll schemes for companies that do not need the corporate division.
Strengths and weaknesses describe the business itself. Opportunities and threats describe what may happen around it.
VTB is a universal bank with a strong corporate division. It lends to large business and state projects, handles settlements for companies, and also works with individuals: it issues mortgages and consumer loans and takes deposits. The group includes investment, insurance and leasing businesses.
Control belongs to the state — the main stake of ordinary shares is in federal ownership. The remaining shares are traded on the exchange.
The bank's payout record is irregular: payouts have been postponed more than once in order to maintain capital adequacy, and after the loss-making year of 2022 they were suspended. The currently declared payouts and record dates are collected in the dividends section of the company profile.
The main difference is in the structure of the balance sheet. At Sberbank, retail and cheap household deposits predominate; at VTB the share of large corporate loans is higher. Hence the difference in how profit behaves: at VTB it is historically more volatile and depends more heavily on the position of individual borrowers.