PAO Sberbank of Russia expects its 2020 net interest margin will drop slightly throughout the year and average between 5.1% and 5.3%, according to the lender's 2020 financial plan presented during the Dec. 11 Analyst Day.

The bank expects its retail loan portfolio to expand by 12% to 14% — in line with market expectations for the sector — and its corporate loans to grow slightly faster than the banking sector's average of 8% to 10%.

Fee and commission income is set to increase by over 10% in 2020, while the cost-to-income ratio is projected to only grow slightly due to costs associated with the lender's technological transformation. The bank also expects a return on equity of over 20%, a common equity Tier 1 ratio of around 14% and cost of risk to be between 100 and 110 basis points for the 2020 fiscal year.

The lender also indicated in its presentation for analysts that strong capital adequacy levels will allow it to earmark 50% of its 2019 net profit under international financial reporting standards for dividend payouts.