Russia's VTB says geopolitics-linked market rally boosted Jan-Feb net profit

MOSCOW, March 27 (Reuters) - Russia's second-largest lender VTB reported a 26% year-on-year rise in January-February net profit to 77.5 billion roubles ($921.85 million), chief financial officer Dmitry Pyanov said, citing a market rally sparked by U.S.-Russia talks.

The first talks between Russia and the United States since the start of the military action in Ukraine triggered a rally in Russian assets in February on expectations of an eventual peace settlement.

"In 2025, we are observing a completely unexpected positive rhetoric regarding geopolitical settlement between the new U.S. administration and Russia," Pyanov said.

"This positive rhetoric came as a surprise to everyone and led to significant growth in the stock market, in certain instruments, this growth exceeds the market average," he added.

Pyanov said that the bank bought instruments linked to Russian stocks and government bonds at the end of 2024 as part of its asset management strategy. The bank maintains its 2025 profit forecast at 430 billion roubles, he said.

Pyanov said that VTB bucked a market trend for slower corporate lending, achieving 1.5% growth in its corporate loan portfolio in the first two months of the year, compared with the zero growth for the sector.

($1 = 84.0705 roubles)