According to the position of the Central Bank and the Ministry of Finance, banks should not pay dividends, said VTB CEO Andrei Kostin. He also expressed hope that VTB will be able to pay dividends again in the future.

“Dividends are not determined by us. They are determined by the annual meeting, where the government holds the controlling stake. The opinion today of the chairman of the Central Bank and the finance minister is that banks should not pay dividends because they need additional capitalization,” Kostin said on the Rossiya-24 TV channel.

He added that he felt a responsibility to shareholders.

“Let’s hope that in the future the situation will change and we will still be able to pay dividends,” Andrei Kostin said.