Russian banks' net profit up 7% m/m in April, central bank says
MOSCOW, May 28 (Reuters) - The net profit of Russian banks rose by 7% in month-on-month terms in April to 261 billion roubles ($3.27 billion), according to data published by the central bank on Wednesday.
Corporate lending rose by 0.9% in April compared to March, while consumer lending declined by 0.7%, the central bank said.
($1 = 79.8705 roubles)
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Reuters
6 hours ago
- Reuters
Kremlin says Europe will feel the recoil from its 'illegal' sanctions on Russia
MOSCOW, June 29 (Reuters) - The Kremlin said in remarks published on Sunday that the tougher the sanctions imposed on Russia by Europe, the more painful the recoil would be for Europe's own economies as Russia had grown resistant to such "illegal" sanctions. Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 triggered a wave of Western sanctions on Russia and it is by far the most sanctioned major economy in the world. The West said that it hoped its sanctions would force President Vladimir Putin to seek peace in Ukraine, and though the economy contracted in 2022, it grew in 2023 and 2024 at faster rates than the European Union. The European Commission on June 10 proposed a new round of sanctions against Russia, targeting Moscow's energy revenues, its banks and its military industry, though the United States has so far refused to toughen its own sanctions. Asked about remarks by Western European leaders including French President Emmanuel Macron that toughening sanctions would force Russia to negotiate an end to the war, the Kremlin said only logic and arguments could force Russia to negotiate. "The more serious the package of sanctions, which, I repeat, we consider illegal, the more serious will be the recoil from a gun to the shoulder. This is a double-edged sword," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told state television. Peskov told state television's top Kremlin correspondent, Pavel Zarubin, that he did not doubt the EU would impose further sanctions but that Russia had built up "resistance" to such sanctions. President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that any additional EU sanctions on Russia would simply hurt Europe more - and pointed out that Russia's economy grew at 4.3% in 2024 compared to euro zone growth of 0.9%.
The Sun
7 hours ago
- The Sun
Putin is the number one threat to UK – we must apply pressure or he'll come marching into Europe, ex-defence chief warns
RUSSIA'S economy must be drained to stop bloodthirsty Vladimir Putin invading other countries, an ex-defence minister has warned. Sir Liam Fox argued seizing Moscow 's assets in Europe and allowing oligarchs to invest in the continent would help paralyse the tyrant's war fund. 3 3 3 The former trade secretary insisted there is no other way to deal with "FSB thug" Putin - who is hellbent on recreating the Soviet Union "by all means". He told The Sun: "I don't think there is a military solution to what's happening in Ukraine. But I think there is a solution in the longer term." Sir Fox, who served as the UK's defence minister under ex-PM David Cameron, said Putin has "absolutely crippled" his nation's economy - which could present an ideal opportunity. The Kremlin's bloated military spending after more than three years of bloodshed in Ukraine has left Russia"on the brink" of recession, its economy minister Maxim Reshetnikov warned. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas revealed this month how Russia is spending more on defence than the EU's 27 nations combined. "That comes, however, at a cost in the medium to long term," Sir Fox said. "First of all, it's much easier to transform an economy from a peace economy into a war economy than vice versa. It requires a great deal of money." It comes as a Ukrainian government source this week warned The Sun that Putin could be plotting to exploit the crisis in the Middle East to launch an attack on Nato. Sir Fox and fellow ex-defence chief Penny Mordant both called for more to be done to bolster the UK's defences to diminish the threat posed by Vlad. They warned Putin is the "number one threat" to Britain - and could jeopardise the UK's security with sabotage attacks. Putin has lost a MILLION men - Ukraine has killed so many it is running out of ammo Ms Mordaunt, who was defence secretary during Theresa May's premiership, urged the UK to turn up the heat on the tyrant. She told The Sun: "You need to be wide-eyed about what Putin is trying to achieve. "But you also need to put pressure on him. It's his war. It's always been his war to end. "I applaud what the president [Trump] has been doing to try and bring the conditions for it to come to an end about. "But we need to apply that pressure." Former treasury commissioner Sir Fox said the only way to stop the warmongering dictator from unleashing his forces on other nations is to let Russia's economy bleed. Putin's invasion of Ukraine more than three years ago triggered a slew of sanctions from the West - and near-total departure of Western companies from the sprawling nation. by Katie Davis, Chief Foreign Reporter (Digital) BRITAIN will pay with the blood of its people if more money isn't spent to bolster the UK's defence, Penny Mordaunt has warned. The ex-defence secretary has urged the government to "wake up" and fund the UK 's security properly before it's too late. Former Navy reservist Mordaunt argued that Britain is "emboldening our enemies" if we fail to invest in other forms of deterrence. She warned the consequences with be "incalculably grave" if the government does not open up the treasury purse. Ms Mordaunt told The Sun: "I'm confident that if you prepare for war, you invest in it, you train for it, then conflicts don't start. "Because your foes know it is not worth them doing that. They're going to lose. "The consequences of retaliation against them are too great." Sir Fox said: "We didn't win the Cold War because we had more or better weapons than the Russians. "It's because we had bigger and stronger economies and could outspend them. And this is what we need to do now. "We need to ensure that the Russian economy pays the price for Putin's policies. Sadly, that means the Russian people, ultimately. "But our job is to make sure that that war economy is weakened and that we diminish his ability to wage war elsewhere. So we need to ensure that Russia doesn't have the money." Sir Fox believes this would be best achieved by reversing the policy stopping Russian oligarchs from investing in Europe. This, he said, will draw more money out of Russia. "I think we should also seize Russian assets in Europe," the former doctor added. "The Russian assets sitting in Europe are more than the combined money that Europe and America have given to Ukraine so far. "And I think that it's perfectly reasonable that Russia pays the price for its war making. And you can view it as reparations for Ukraine. "So the principle is there. And I think in the long term we need to try to make sure that Russia is not able to afford to be able to wage war. "It's quite clear that Putin can't be accommodated. "There is no way to deal with an FSB thug who is a hardline ideologue who hates the West and wants to recreate the Soviet Union by all means including violence." It comes after a top Ukrainian government source warned Putin could hit Europe with a never-seen-before-attack. The insider said the tyrant could exploit the crisis in the Middle East while the West's eyes are turned to the embattled region. Cunning Vlad may even attempt to mimic Ukraine's elaborate Spiderweb operation that blitzed strategic targets inside Russia. The source told The Sun: "The West should be prepared that the Spiderweb operation may be reconfigured and deployed by Russia as a hybrid attack on any Nato Eastern flank nation. "That would be the major Article 5 test that the Alliance has not experienced yet."
Reuters
2 days ago
- Reuters
Berlin to simplify rules in bid to speed up defence surge, draft law says
BERLIN, June 27 (Reuters) - The German government seeks to speed up defence procurement by simplifying legal procedures, fostering European cooperation and facilitating orders to start-ups to make its military combat-ready, according to a draft law seen by Reuters late on Friday. The speedy surge of the German military's capabilities "must not fail due to overly complex procurement procedures or lengthy authorisation processes", the document said, while warning of signs that Moscow's war objectives reach beyond Ukraine. "The time factor is crucial." At a NATO summit in The Hague, leaders on Wednesday agreed to hike the alliance's defence spending target to 5% of national GDP, with 3.5% dedicated to core defence and 1.5% to related security issues. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's government on Tuesday approved a budget framework which is expected to see Berlin's total military spending rise from 95 billion euros in 2025 to 162 billion euros in 2029, equalling 3.5% of GDP. The new defence procurement law is part of efforts to speed up military purchases that in the past have been plagued by lengthy delays, project failures and cost overshoots. The draft law determines that all procurement that contributes to Europe and NATO's military readiness inherently touches upon vital national security, which constitutes a basis to invoke an exemption under European public procurement law. That would amplify a trend that Berlin has been following for some time by more often making use of a national security clause under EU law to prioritize domestic procurement, while also seeking to minimize delays caused by legal challenges. The hurdles for cash-strapped start-ups and innovative companies to join competitions are to be lowered by enabling advance payment to these firms, according to the draft, dated June 25. The paper also makes provisions for a future simplification of European defence procurement rules, something now under discussion at the EU level, by stating that the German law should not be tougher than European law but facilitate joint European defence procurement across the board. The law will entitle contracting entities to limit tenders to bidders inside the European Union or the European Economic Area, and to determine that a certain share of the contracted goods or services must originate in the EU, according to the document. The draft law does not, however, attempt to change the rule that all defence purchases with a volume of 25 million euros or more must be approved by parliament, a requirement seen by many experts as a major hurdle against speeding up procurement. At the start of June, Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said Germany would need up to 60,000 additional troops under the new NATO targets for weapons and personnel, effectively expanding the military to some 260,000 troops. The Bundeswehr has not yet met a target of 203,000 troops set in 2018, and it is currently short-staffed by some 20,000 regular troops, according to defence ministry data.
