UPDATE 1-Russia banks NPLs growth may stop by H2 2010 -S&P

* S&P says NPL's growth may stop by H2 2010

* Sees loan portfolio growth below 15 pct

* Reiterates total loan losses may reach 14 pct by 2012

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MOSCOW, Dec 9 (Reuters) - The share of bad loans in Russian banks' portfolios may stop growing by the second half of next year, but growth in lending will still be modest, Standard & Poor's ratings agency said on Wednesday.

Russian banks have seen almost all of its profit wiped out this year after bad loans but some major players, including No.1 lender Sberbank SBER03.MM, are aiming to return to pre-crisis profitability in 2010.

"We are talking about stabilisation, about problem loans reaching a certain plateau," S&P credit analyst Ekaterina Trofimova told a conference.

The agency also reiterates its previous forecast the banking system total loan losses may reach 14 percent by 2012.

Russia's central bank has said bad loan growth is yet to peak although the pace of asset quality deterioration has slowed down significantly in the last months [ID:nGEE5AM2LM].

Russian authorities see the growing pile of non-performing loans clogging the banking system.

The central bank has cut its refinancing rate by 400 basic points to 9 percent to make loans more available for borrowers and less risky for lenders the measure has so far failed to boost the lending growth.

"The huge pile of non-performing loans sharply curbs growth of the banking system. The banks do not have enough resources to boost lending. The growth of gross loan portfolio will not exceed 15 percent next year," Trofimova said. (Reporting by Dmitry Sergeyev; editing by Karen Foster)