The share of the state in state-controlled Russian banks, especially in Vneshtorgbank (VTB), should be reduced significantly, Russian presidential aide Arkady Dvorkovich said Thursday.
"I believe that we must fully or almost fully privatize Vneshtorgbank, if it buys other banks, and then think about reducing the share of the state in Sberbank to less than 50 percent," Dvorkovich said at an investment forum in Moscow.
He later added that the state share in Sberbank, Russia's largest bank, could be reduced to as low as 45 percent, but did not specify the time frame necessary to implement the changes regarding state-run banks.
According to the current state privatization plan, the Russian government intends to sell 35 percent of its stake in VTB in 2011-2012, reducing its share to controlling stake.
At the same time, the government plans to sell 7.6 percent of its stake in Sberbank by 2014, also reducing it to a controlling stake.
MOSCOW, February 3 (RIA Novosti)
