VTB received 16 billion rubles from the sale of part of the blocked assets

According to the bank’s first deputy chairman Dmitry Pyanov, we are talking about assets that were not covered by VTB’s obligations to non-residents.

At the same time, the bank did not specify the size of the assets sold or the buyer. The credit institution has been preparing for the deal since early 2024.

Pyanov explained that the form involved a transfer of rights to VTB assets to the buyer. The assets were sold at a discount, the amount of which was also not disclosed. However, Pyanov admitted that there was a significant discount.

“There are very few counterparties on the market that have an excess of stranded liabilities over assets. This is the second year we have been looking for such counterparties on the market, which suggests that this is a buyer’s market. In a situation where it is a buyer’s market, the discount is large. Even in the state, it is beginning to be understood that these assets are unrecoverable,” a senior VTB manager was quoted as saying by RBC.

At the end of 2023, according to the bank’s own estimates, the volume of frozen assets amounted to 900 billion rubles.