Russia's Sberbank on track to profitability, says CEO

VLADIVOSTOK, Russia (Reuters) - Russia's dominant lender Sberbank is on track to post a profit this year, CEO German Gref said on Wednesday, declining to give concrete forecasts as the country's banking sector begins to recover from hefty losses in the first half of 2022.

Speaking during an online press conference at Russia's Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, where officials have been revising their forecasts concerning the size of the economic hit from sanctions and other restrictions this year, Gref said Sberbank expected Russia's GDP to decline 4.5% in 2022.

Russia Economy Minister Maxim Reshetnikov said on Tuesday the economic contraction this year would be 2.9%, shallower than previously forecast, while No. 2 lender VTB now envisages a 4% contraction.

(Reporting by Alexander Marrow; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)