VTB Bank stock sinks below nominal value amid Ukrainian strikes on Wildberries

Shares of the Russia's second-largest bank by assets reached a new all-time low of 49.86 rubles ($0.59) per share, falling below nominal face value of 50 rubles for the first time in institutional history. VTB shares dropped 3% in a single trading session, 11% since early August, and 45% year-to-date.

Compared to its peak valuation in 2015, VTB has surrendered 88% of its market capitalization, representing a loss of 4.7 trillion rubles ($56.2 billion). Despite holding 35 trillion rubles ($418.6 billion) in assets and managing 8.5 trillion rubles ($101.7 billion) in retail deposits, the state lender is now valued at just 646 billion rubles ($7.7 billion) — three times less than the market capitalization of Chinese Pop Mart's Labubu doll franchise.

VTB's balance-sheet vulnerabilities are exacerbated by extensive commitments tied to Wildberries, according to analysts at Solid Investment IFC.

In late May, the bank announced a strategic partnership with the marketplace. Just months later, following Ukrainian drone strikes, Wildberries lost one-third of its total warehousing capacity, sustaining several hundred billion rubles (billions of dollars) in direct asset losses. Furthermore, VTB holds heavy exposure to Ozon, the subsequent primary target of Ukraine’s logistics-focused drone campaign.

The bank holds a major equity stake in Ozon pledged as loan collateral for AFK Sistema, which owns a significant share in the marketplace, noted Alor Broker analyst Andrei Zatsepin. Since early summer, Ozon shares have plummeted 45%, likely forcing VTB to extend emergency credit lines to the distressed retail operator, Solid Investment noted.

VTB was already grappling with rising credit defaults throughout 2025. The proportion of non-performing assets on its balance sheet rose 1.5-fold to 14.2%, exceeding the Russian banking sector's average non-performing loan ratio by one-third.

Drone strikes target Russian e-commerce hubs

Ukrainian long-range strike drones recently targeted major Ozon distribution complexes across three Russian oblasts, including a 135,000-square-meter fulfillment hub in Samara Oblast and facilities in Orenburg and Ufa.  Ukraine's Ministry of Defense confirmed that operations expanded to Ozon after hitting the 15 largest fulfillment nodes of Wildberries.

Direct damage to Wildberries has already surpassed hundreds of billions of rubles (billions of dollars), with total losses — including destroyed merchant inventory — estimated at up to 1 trillion rubles ($11.9 billion). The sustained wave of strikes has triggered steep declines in Ozon shares on the Moscow Exchange as disruptions ripple across Russia’s retail and banking sectors.