OREANDA-NEWS. March 18, 2015. Sberbank said on Tuesday it planned to extend 500 billion roubles (\\$8.1 billion) of subordinated loans it had received from the central bank, boosting its capital.

Russia's top lender said in a statement that it expected to receive central bank permission to extend the loans by April 1. In separate comments, it clarified that it was seeking to convert all 500 billion roubles of the loans into debt with a maturity of 50 years or more, which means it would be classified as perpetual debt and lift the bank's capital.

That would allow it to step up lending to Russian companies and households.

Like many other Russian banks, Sberbank has seen a sharp drop in profits and higher loan-loss provisions, made as the economy slows, eat into its capital.

The bank is under Western sanctions over Russia's role in the Ukraine crisis.

Sberbank borrowed 500 billion roubles in subordinated debt from the central bank during the global financial crisis of 2008/09 but repaid 200 billion roubles of that loan.

It received another 200 billion rouble subordinated loan from the central bank last year.