OREANDA-NEWS  The mortgage lending situation is of concern due to strict regulation and high interest rates, said German Gref, President and Chairman of the Executive Board of Sberbank, during a working meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"There are still problems with the mortgage. First of all, mortgages for banks today, even under preferential programs, are either unprofitable or with negative returns," Gref said.

"We have very strict regulation. Of course, mortgages are what we care about. Because banks are ready to issue mortgages with zero profitability, because they are interested in ensuring that housing construction does not fall, because we have a huge portfolio of construction projects," added the head of Sberbank.

He noted that the bank is trying to create conditions to stimulate mortgage growth. Sberbank's share in the mortgage lending market is 55%, and about 60% in financing construction projects, Gref said. "We remain the largest bank in terms of involvement in this industry," he stressed.

Putin noted the importance of banks observing the transparency of the conditions for issuing mortgages to citizens.

"The main thing is that the banks themselves, when issuing mortgages, would not aggravate the situation, would not introduce additional, little-known elements for citizens associated with additional expenses," said the President of the Russian Federation.