VTB (MOEX: VTBR) announced the completion of the takeover of Pochta Bank, which took more than a year and a half. The merger allowed VTB to significantly expand its network of branches, including in new regions and remote and sparsely populated areas. At the same time, since 2024, both banks have systematically reduced the volume of loans and deposits from individuals.
On Monday, May 4, VTB reportedwhich merged with Pochta Bank. “From May 1, all products and accounts of Pochta Bank clients have been transferred to VTB,” the bank said in a statement.
VTB submitted an application to the Federal Antimonopoly Service for the acquisition of its stake in Post Bank from Russian Post in September 2024. At that time, the share of Russian Post in the amount of 50% minus 1 share of Post Bank was estimated at 36 billion rubles, for which amount VTB acquired control in Post Bank.
VTB’s main acquisition as a result of the acquisition of Post Bank is its customer base and infrastructure, experts say. Managing Partner of IPM Consulting Anastasia Vladimirova draws attention to the fact that after the acquisition of Post Bank, VTB received a consolidated network of 4.5 thousand service points and 23 thousand points in post offices, a consolidated ATM network of 19 thousand. “Plus, VTB, as it were, entered the countryside, having previously been predominantly a “urban” bank, and also received up to 5 million active clients, a significant part of which are recipients of pensions and social benefits through the SFR (which means cheap account balances and a stable commission flow),” she explains. “VTB gained access to 13 thousand settlements, including remote ones, and, consequently, to the client base of these cities,” adds Oleg Abelev, head of the analytical department of Ricom-Trust Investment Company.
At the same time, by the time the merger was completed, both banks had reduced the volume of their retail business. According to the Bank of Russia, Pochta Bank’s volume of loans to individuals decreased by 119.8 billion rubles in 2025, and in the first quarter of this year by another 47.8 billion rubles; the bank also sold overdue loans at auction (see “Kommersant” dated March 30). As a result, as of April 1, less than 30 billion rubles remained on the bank’s balance sheet. loans to individuals. The volume of time deposits of individuals in Pochta Bank for 2025 decreased by 156.3 billion rubles, according to the results of the first quarter of 2026 – by another 128.3 billion rubles, and, as of April 1, less than 12 million rubles remained on time deposits in Post Bank.
Andrey Kostin, President of VTB, on the merger of Pochta BankMay 4, 2026:
We have changed the model of providing financial services in Russia, eliminating the difference between a metropolis and a small town.
Despite the transfer of Pochta Bank clients to VTB, the latter also saw a decline in the volume of loans and deposits from individuals. In 2025, the volume of retail loans to the bank decreased by 313.4 billion rubles, and in the first quarter of this year by another 13.3 billion rubles. Time deposits of individuals at VTB last year increased by almost 1 trillion rubles, but in the first quarter of 2026 they decreased by 144.6 billion rubles.
Experts attribute the decline in the loan and deposit portfolios of both banks during the merger process to VTB’s policies.
According to Alexey Voylukov, MBA professor of business practice in digital finance at RANEPA, the most noticeable role in this decline was played by the natural decline in the repayment of loans and the expiration of deposits, which at Pochta Bank most likely were not extended for the most part. “Between 2025 and the second quarter of 2026, VTB carried out six securitization transactions for consumer loans – after securitization, the loans leave the balance sheet of the originating bank in a special company,” recalls Anastasia Vladimirova. “In parallel, VTB deliberately reduced the retail loan portfolio of individuals – this is a management decision to unload capital against the backdrop of a strict monetary policy and high macro-surcharges of the Central Bank.”
