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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The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
UK to spend £1.5bn on new weapons factories in response to threat posed by Putin
The government has announced plans to build six new munitions and weapons factories – at a cost of £1.5bn – as ministers seek to improve the UK's war readiness in the face of growing hostility from Russia. The plans will form part of a war-ready – or 'always on' – pipeline that can be scaled up at short notice. Making the announcement ahead of a new defence review published on Monday, defence secretary John Healey said the 'hard-fought lessons' of Vladimir Putin's illegal invasion of Ukraine 'show a military is only as strong as the industry that stands behind them'. A massive increase in the number of munitions and energetics, such as propellants and explosives, made in Britain will 'better deter our adversaries and make the UK secure at home and strong abroad', Mr Healey said. It will also boost the number of skilled jobs in every nation and region of the UK as part of plans to make defence 'an engine for economic growth', he added. The plans are designed to support 1,800 jobs and procure up to 7,000 UK-built long-range weapons, bringing the amount Britain spends on munitions in the five years to 2029 to £6bn. On Saturday, Mr Healy said he had 'no doubt' the UK will spend 3 per cent of GDP on defence by 2034. It follows persistent pressure from US president Donald Trump, who has urged Nato allies to raise defence spending to 5 per cent – more than double the alliance's current 2 per cent target. The new defence review is expected to warn of an 'immediate and pressing' threat posed by Russia and draw heavily on the lessons learned from the war in Ukraine. Cyber experts are expected to be sent to the front line alongside regular forces, in a move designed to modernise the British military. Ministers have already announced plans to spend an additional £1.5bn fixing up military houses amid claims years of neglect has led to troops quitting. The latest announcement comes in response to a call in the defence review for an 'always on' munitions production capacity that can be quickly scaled up. Chancellor Rachel Reeves said: 'A strong economy needs a strong national defence, and investing in weaponry and munitions and backing nearly 2,000 jobs across Britain in doing so is proof the two go hand in hand. 'We are delivering both security for working people in an uncertain world and good jobs, putting more money in people's pockets as part of our Plan for Change.' The 3 per cent funding could prove controversial. Money to meet the 2.5 per cent target was found by slashing overseas aid from 0.5 per cent to 0.3 per cent of GDP – a move which prompted then international development minister Anneliese Dodds to resign. Shadow defence secretary James Cartlidge said: 'It's a bit rich of Labour to talk about 'always on' munitions production when procurement has been largely switched off for the past year. Rachel Reeves has deliberately used the SDR to put an effective freeze on new orders for the kit our military needs. 'Of course, we welcome investment in new munitions factories, but we don't know when they will be ready, only that these orders should have been placed months ago. 'Ultimately, we need to see greater ambition for the pace and scale of rearmament our armed forces require, given the threats we face and the need to replace inventory gifted to Ukraine. That means 3 per cent of GDP by the end of this Parliament, and Labour properly prioritising defence spending - instead of seeking to outspend Reform on welfare.'
Reuters
3 hours ago
- Reuters
Trump calls Putin 'absolutely crazy' after more Ukraine strikes
U.S. President Donald Trump said Vladimir Putin had "gone absolutely CRAZY" by unleashing the largest aerial attack of the war on Ukraine and said he was weighing new sanctions on Moscow. Fiona Jones reports.
The Guardian
7 hours ago
- The Guardian
Ukraine must urgently be given the €300bn of frozen Russian assets
Ukraine needs more than long-range missiles and fibre-optic drones in its fight with Russia. What it needs is more money, and lots of it. In particular, the war-torn nation should be handed the €300bn (£250bn) of frozen Russian assets stored mostly in accounts hosted by the Euroclear trading system. The Belgian government could confiscate the funds with the support of the EU Commission, or set up a way to use the Russian funds as collateral for a gigantic loan to Ukraine. Either way, Moscow has forfeited its right to the money, which is mostly central bank funds that were left behind after Putin gave the order to invade. As a statement of intent, confiscating the funds would be shock to Putin, hurt his pride and undermine support at home for the war. It would give Ukraine a much needed psychological boost after months of backpedalling through the Donbas while Russian forces exploit the dithering and equivocation in Washington. Donald Trump, who views Europe as weak and indecisive, would be left reeling by such a forceful act, which many have demanded since the start of the war and has gained traction in recent weeks as the bombardment of Ukraine has intensified. A short walk from the EU commission buildings, Euroclear's HQ is one of the largest hosts to international financial transactions in the world. Understandably, it is keen to hang on to its reputation as a cast-iron guarantor of secure trading to the world's biggest investors. In this role, the company has warned that a confiscation of the €183bn lodged in its systems would undermine Europe's role as a safe haven in the eyes of investors from South America to the Indian subcontinent. It has the backing of the French and Belgian governments, which are shareholders in the organisation. Recently another reason for keeping the money frozen and unused has come to the fore. Trump's tariff war and tax-giveaway budget has undermined the US as the home of free-market capitalism, offering the EU a chance to grab a bigger slice of the financial trading action. One analyst said: 'Europe needs to move quickly to take advantage of growing disillusionment in the US economy'. Yannis Stournaras, governor of the Bank of Greece, was another to argue that the prize would be toppling the dollar as the premier reserve currency and inserting the euro in its place. A decade ago, many considered the euro a currency with only a limited lifespan before a north/south split – pitching profligate Greece, Italy and Spain against austere Germany, the Netherlands and Austria – tore the single currency apart. Today the euro is seen as a stable currency while the dollar comes under daily attack. Now is the time to show Europe is the safest of havens in contrast to Trump's America. There are mutterings in Brussels that to grab this opportunity also means rejecting attempts to confiscate Russia's frozen billions. How would it look, they ask, if the EU invited more investment in the bloc via jointly issued 'stability' bonds, when in the same breath it announced the confiscation of investor funds. Sign up to Business Today Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning after newsletter promotion This is a fallacy that needs to be squashed quickly. It's true that a few autocratic despots around the world might withdraw their funds from European trading centres if Russia's money is taken away, fearing the same would happen to them, but EU banks should not be looking after their money anyway. And the Russia situation is extreme and cannot be thought of as the thin end of any wedge, or a slippery slope. Belgium and the EU have budged a little. The interest generated by Russia's frozen assets is given to Ukraine, and Belgium hands its shareholder dividend payments to the Volodymyr Zelenskyy war effort. And earlier this month Euroclear said it plans to seize and redistribute about €3bn of Russia's funds after Moscow last year grabbed investor cash of the same value. However, the motive was just to compensate investors who were foolish enough to leave their financial assets inside a country that has been explicitly threatening war since the 2014 invasion of Crimea. Such manoeuvring only emphasises how Ukraine needs all the money now, as a show of force and as an expression of unity as much for what it could buy. It matters because, as military chiefs discussed last week in a conference held by the UK's Royal United Services Institute, Putin has the capacity to invade other parts of Europe within months of success in Ukraine. And Nato is under-prepared. There is broader agreement across Europe as each week passes that Putin needs to be stopped. Military spending is the focus, and governments are promising to ramp up their commitments. Not by €300bn though, which is why the funds in Euroclear and other EU-based financial custodians must be seized. Even Rishi Sunak, writing in the Economist earlier this year, says he agrees that Russia has kissed goodbye to any rights over the funds. We just need chancellor Merz, president Macron and Keir Starmer to say the same.
