Russian credit institutions expand to 355 by March 2026
The Central Bank of Russia (CBR) reported a slight increase in the total number of operating credit institutions to 355 by March 1, 2026. This data release provides quantitative characteristics for the first quarter of 2026.
Credit institutions expand, non-banks lead growth
The total number of operating credit institutions in Russia increased from 352 at the start of January 2026 to 355 by March 1, 2026.
This modest expansion was primarily driven by the non-bank credit institutions (CIs) segment, which saw its numbers grow from 46 to 50 over the two-month period.
In contrast, the number of banks slightly decreased from 306 to 305. Within the banking sector, universal license banks remained stable at 213, while basic license banks saw a minor reduction from 94 to 92. The data also indicates that 282 CIs hold a license to take deposits from individuals, a slight decrease from 283 in January, while all 355 CIs are authorized to conduct operations in foreign currency by March.
The number of CIs covered by the mandatory deposit insurance system remained largely stable, moving from 286 to 285.
Operational footprint and Sberbank's role
The registered authorized capital of operating CIs increased from 3374.2 billion rubles in January to 3417.22 billion rubles by March 2026.
The total number of branches in Russia saw a modest rise from 369 to 374, with Sberbank maintaining 86 branches.
Representative offices remained stable at 55, split between 37 in Russia and 18 abroad.
While additional offices decreased from 22355 to 22013, including a reduction in Sberbank's offices from 10267 to 10120, mobile offices expanded.
The number of mobile offices grew from 378 to 392, with Sberbank's mobile fleet increasing from 373 to 387 units, indicating a shift in service delivery channels.