ST PETERSBURG, Russia, June 3 (Reuters) – Regulatory relief for Russian banks financing purchases of drone defence equipment by industrial enterprises in the civil sector would be a good idea, Andrei Kostin, CEO of Russia’s second-largest lender VTB, said on Wednesday.
Russian industry – including oil refineries, oil storage facilities, fertiliser plants and ports – has suffered from a surge in Ukrainian drone attacksthis year.
The head of the country’s leading business lobby told President Vladimir Putin last month that targeted companies are ready to purchase heavier weapons and electronic systems to defend their plants.
“It might be possible to consult with the central bank to see if there are any regulatory relaxations for banks in terms of financing such purchases by enterprises,” Kostin told reporters on the sidelines of Russia’s biggest economic conference in St. Petersburg.
“I think this would be a good initiative that we would support in order to provide companies with the necessary financial resources to ensure security,” Kostin added, stressing that VTB would support such an initiative.
Ukrainian drones hit an oil terminal in St Petersburg hours before Russia’s fifth wartime economic forum, dubbed “Russia’s Davos” got under way in the city.
(Reporting by Gleb BryanskiWriting by Maxim Rodionov and Gleb BryanskiEditing by Andrew Osborn and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)