Russia’s second-largest bank, state-controlled VTB Bank, posted RUB122bn ($1.3bn) net profit in 1Q24, making a return on equity (ROE) of 22%. Despite declining by 17% year on year, net income and ROE for 1Q24 was above the expectations of Renaissance Capital analysts and consensus expectations. VTB commented that given the good 1Q24 performance, net profit and return on equity in 2024 may be higher than the earlier forecast (RUB435bn and 19%, respectively), without updating the guidance yet. As followed by bne IntelliNews, VTB Group posted record profit under IFRS of RUB432bn ($4.6bn) for 2023…