OREANDA-NEWS. Sberbank (hereafter "the Group") has released its Annual consolidated IFRS financial statements (hereafter "the Financial Statements") as at and for the year ended 31 December 2015, with audit report by Ernst & Young.

Net interest income was RUB297.2 bn in Q4 2015, up by 8.2% from the year-ago period:
* Interest income (up 14.9% to RUB598.9 bn compared to Q4 2014) was driven by a moderate pick up in corporate lending and mortgages.
* Interest expenses including deposit insurance expenses increased by 22.3% from Q4 2014 to RUB301.7 bn. The cost of liabilities decreased by 50 basis points to 5.3% in Q4 2015 relative to Q3 2015, driven by both corporate and retail term deposits, cost of which came down by 50 basis points to 5.0% and by 40 basis points to 6.7%. The amount of funds borrowed from the Central Bank of Russia, excluding the subordinated debt received from the Bank of Russia, was reduced by 73.4% in Q4 2015 to RUB269.8 bn. Improved access to liquidity allows Sberbank to be more flexible in managing its cost of funding.

The Group's Q4 2015 net fee and commission income came at RUB95.6 bn, up by 19.2% from the year-ago period. The income from cash and settlement transactions business (RUB87.0 bn) accounted for a strong 75.7% share in total fees and commissions income in the fourth quarter. Sberbank continued to strengthen its domestic market share in acquiring and banking cards business. Income from the banking cards operations increased by 48.6% in Q4 2015 from the same period a year ago.

Net provision charge for loan impairment for Q4 2015 totaled RUB112.3 bn compared to RUB103.4 bn for Q4 2014. This translated into the cost of risk of 230 basis points for the quarter versus 240 basis points a year ago.

* The cost of risk for corporate loans decreased by 10 basis points to 292 basis points in Q4 2015 relative to the previous quarter of 2015.

* The cost of risk for retail loans dropped by 162 basis points to 49 basis points in Q4 2015 relative to the previous quarter of 2015.
The Group's operating expenses for Q4 2015 increased to RUB191.7 bn, up by 8.3% from the same period a year ago, whereas the average for the same period domestic inflation was 14.5%.

The Q4 2015 Financial Highlights:
· Sberbank's net profit reached RUB72.6 bn, or RUB3.40 per ordinary share, for the quarter, up by 48.2% compared to Q4 2014
The 2015 Financial Highlights:
· The Group net profit reached RUB222.9 bn, or RUB10.36 per ordinary share