MOSCOW, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Otkritie Bank, owned by Russia’s central bank since a 2017 bailout, is on track to post a record profit, its Deputy President Dmitry Levin said, ahead of a possible listing next year. Once Russia’s largest private bank by assets, Otkritie was rescued by the central bank during a wide-scale purge of the banking system that shut hundreds of other lenders. Otkritie nearly doubled its net profit to 58.7 billion roubles ($832 million) in the first nine months of 2021, while its net interest margin rose to 4.8% from 3.9% a year earlier. “We think that the pace of profitability growth that was set will be continued, and we expect a substantial over-fulfilment of our profit target,” Levin said in an interview on Tuesday, without disclosing the target. Levin said Otkritie’s interest rate risk was largely hedged even though it expected the Bank of Russia to raise its key rate as high as 8%, up from 7.5%, before embarking on rate cuts in the third quarter of 2022. Rate increases are designed to tame high inflation but they also mean banks need to raise deposit payments, while potentially also facing lower demand for loans as they become more expensive for borrowers. Otkritie’s financial health improved under Central Bank First Deputy Chairman Ksenia Yudaeva, who took the role of Otkritie’s chair of the supervisory board. Now, the central bank is looking for ways to lower its stake to end its dual role as both regulator and owner. It has already sold its controlling stake in Russia’s biggest bank Sberbank to the government. The central bank, which does not comment on banks that are still operating on the market, has said reducing its stake in Otkritie via an initial public offering or by selling to a strategic investor were both being considered. Otkritie’s President Mikhail Zadornov said in April the bank was on track for an IPO in May 2022. Levin did not comment on the central bank’s plan to reduce its stake in Otkritie. ($1 = 70.5480 roubles) (Writing by Andrey Ostroukh; Editing by Katya Golubkova and Alexander Smith)