Russian cen bank considering sale of entire Otkritie Group to VTB - Vedomosti

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's central bank said it may go one step further in its sale of Otkritie Bank by selling the bailed out lender's wider group, which includes pension fund and insurance assets, to VTB Bank, the Vedomosti daily reported.

"We are now considering selling Otkritie Group to VTB," Vedomosti quoted Central Bank First Deputy Governor Vladimir Chistyukhin as saying in an interview published on Thursday.

The group unites the bank, non-state pension fund (NPF) Otkritie, insurance asset Rosgosstrakh and a number of other companies, Chistyukhin said.

The central bank took control of Otkritie, once Russia's largest private lender, five years ago in a clean-up of the banking sector. It says it has fixed the bank's toxic assets.

Before Russia started what it calls a special military operation in Ukraine on Feb. 24, the central bank had considered selling Otkritie to investors via an initial public offering (IPO).

The central bank now wants to sell Otkritie group to VTB at a market price, Chistyukhin said without disclosing details.

(Reporting by Reuters; editing by David Evans)