Russia’s Sberbank CEO forecasts GDP to decline 3.4% in 2020

The Russian economy will decline about 3.4% in 2020, CEO of Russia’s top lender Sberbank Herman Gref said on Sunday in an interview with Rossiya-1 TV channel.

"We see that according to the results of last year, Russia’s gross domestic product (GDP) will drop by about 3.4%, which is quite good in comparison with other countries. And the support measures were surgical, but rather effective," Gref said.

He noted that banks were forced to accumulate large reserves because of borrowers, who will require support and restructuring this year.