Sberbank of Russia

Not to be confused with Sberbank of the USSR.

For other uses, see Sberbank (disambiguation).

Sberbank
Сбербанк

Sberbank
Type	Public (PAO)
Traded as	MCX: SBER
Industry	Banking, Financial Services
Founded	1841
Headquarters	Moscow, Russia
Key people	Sergey Ignatiev, (Chairman) Herman Gref, (CEO)
Products	consumer banking, corporate banking, finance and insurance, investment banking, mortgage loans, private banking, private equity, savings, Securities, asset management, wealth management, Credit cards
Operating income	RUB 1300.7 billion (2014)
Net income	RUB 290.3 billion (2014)
Total assets	RUB 25.201 billion (2014)
Owner	Central Bank of Russia (51%)
Number of employees	over 250,000
Subsidiaries	Sberbank CIB Denizbank Subsidiaries in various European and post-Soviet countries
Website	www.sberbank.com

Sberbank of Russia (Sberbank, Russian: Сбербанк России, initially a contraction of "сберегательный банк" - sberegatelʹnyĭ bank; English: "Savings bank of Russia") is a Russian banking and financial services company headquartered in Moscow. Sberbank has operations in several European and post-Soviet countries. As of 2014 it was the largest bank in Russia and Eastern Europe, and the third largest in Europe, ranked 33rd in the world and first in central and Eastern Europe in The Banker's Top 1000 World Banks ranking.

History

File:Vladimir Putin 12 November 2001-7.jpg

Russian President Putin visits a Moscow branch of Sberbank, November 2001

Russian coin commemorating the establishment of the first savings banks in the Russian Empire in 1841.

Early history

Sberbank's history goes back to Cancrin's financial reform of 1841, when a network of the first state-owned savings banks was created in Russia. By the end of the 19th century, the network reached almost 4 thousand outlets with over 2 million depositors.

Since 1905, savings bank outlets became authorised to sell insurance. After 1910, savings banks started subsidising credit cooperation institutions and extending loans to small lenders. In 1915, savings bank outlets started accepting government securities for depositing.

Soviet savings banks system

After the October Revolution of 1917, the state savings banks system continued its activity and growth under the management of the Finance Ministry of the USSR as the State Labour Savings Banks System. From 1926, the saving bank outlets were used to pay wages to blue- and white-collar workers. The savings banks were used to distribute state lottery tickets and for the placement of state bonds with the population. The savings banks introduced wider services such as money transfers.

By late 1980s, the Soviet savings bank system had almost 80 thousand branches. As part of Perestroika reforms, in 1987 the savings bank outlets are reorganised into the Savings Bank of the USSR. Within the Savings bank of the USSR, separate savings banks were created in the Soviet Republics. Following the dissolution of the USSR, the former republican savings banks became state savings banks of the newly independent post-Soviet states.

In 1991, the Savings bank of the RSFSR has been reorganised into the Joint-Stock Commercial Savings Bank of the Russian Federation (Sberbank of Russia).

Sberbank of Russia

In post-Soviet Russia, Sberbank is the largest universal bank despite growing competition from private and other state-owned commercial banks. The bank has gradually expanded its international presence.

Since 2007, Sberbank is led by former economy minister Herman Gref.

Volksbank International acquisition, 2011

In 2011, Sberbank acquired Volksbank International AG from its shareholders Österreichische Volksbanken AG, BPCE, DZ Bank and WGZ Bank. The deal included all VBI assets - banks in Slovakia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, Ukraine, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, except for Volksbank Romania. The agreed price was €585 to €645 million, depending on VBI business performance in 2011. VBI’s total assets excluding Romania was €9.4 billion in June 2011.

Denizbank acquisition, 2012

In June 2012 Sberbank bought the Turkish DenizBank for Turkish Lira 6,469 billion (about EUR 2,821 billion or US$3.504 billion) from the lender Dexia, which in 2011 was "partly nationalized by the governments of France, Belgium and Luxembourg". The deal included DenizBank subsidiaries in Turkey, Austria and Russia.

US and EU sanctions, 2014

After the referendum in Crimea and the following reunion with Russia in March 2014 the Obama administration imposed sanctions, to which the US Department of Treasury added new prohibitions in September 2014, coinciding with EU sanctions. Sanctions consist of access restriction to the EU and US capital markets. After announcement of the sanctions, and by the end of July, Sberbank's market value had dropped the most market value among the world’s major lenders plus investors moved $22 billion from Sberbank’s market capitalization. Still, during the following year Sberbank’s share price grew back 89%. Sberbank together with other Russian banks filed claims with the highest EU court to lift the punitive economic measures.

Ownership

The majority shareholder of Sberbank is the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, owning 50%+1 voting share of Sberbank's voting shares. The rest of the shares is dispersed among portfolio, private and other investors with an estimated shareholding of over 43% held by by foreigners.

Russia's central bank cannot sell its stake without a change in Russia's laws.

Management

The President and Chief Executive Officer is Herman Gref, confirmed by the Board of Directors on 16 October 2007.

The Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Sberbank is Sergey Ignatiev, former Chairman of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation.

Operations

As of 2015 the bank had about 16,500 offices with over 250,000 employees. According to own estimates, the bank had over 137 million retail clients and over 1.1 million corporate clients in its 22 countries of presence.

As of August 2015 it accounted for 28.6% of aggregate banking assets, calling itself "the circulatory system of the Russian economy","key lender to the Russian economy and the biggest receiver of deposits".

Within Russia, Sberbank is structured into several regional divisions (territorial banks):

ATM of Sberbank.

Sberbank regional head office in St. Petersburg

Sberbank sign in Russian and Altai language in Ust-Koksa, Altai Republic

File:Illumination of Sberbank building in Novosibirsk at night.jpg

Sberbank office in Novosibirsk

File:Сбербанк в Смоленске.jpg

Sberbank in Smolensk

Baikal Bank	Zabaykalsky Krai Irkutsk Oblast Buryatia Sakha Republic
Volga-Vyatka Bank	Nizhny Novgorod Oblast Vladimir Oblast Kirov Oblast Mordovia Mari El Chuvashia Tatarstan
East Siberian Bank	Krasnoyarsk Krai Tuva Khakassia
Far Eastern Bank	Khabarovsk Krai Primorsky Krai Amur Oblast Sakhalin Oblast Jewish Autonomous Oblast Magadan Oblast Kamchatka Krai Chukotka Autonomous Okrug
West Siberian Bank	Tyumen Oblast Omsk Oblast Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug
West Urals Bank	Perm Krai Komi Udmurtia
Moscow Bank	Moscow
Volga Region Bank	Samara Oblast Ulyanovsk Oblast Orenburg Oblast Saratov Oblast Volgograd Oblast Astrakhan Oblast Penza Oblast
Northern Bank	Yaroslavl Oblast Kostroma Oblast Ivanovo Oblast Vologda Oblast Arkhangelsk Oblast Nenets Autonomous Okrug
North Western Bank	Saint Petersburg Leningrad Oblast Murmansk Oblast Kaliningrad Oblast Pskov Oblast Novgorod Oblast Karelia
North Caucasus Bank	Stavropol Krai Ingushetia North Ossetia-Alania Kabardino-Balkaria Dagestan Karachay-Cherkessia Kalmykia Chechnya
Siberian Bank	Novosibirsk Oblast Tomsk Oblast Kemerovo Oblast Altai Krai Altai Republic
Central Russian Bank	Moscow Oblast Tver Oblast Kaluga Oblast Bryansk Oblast Smolensk Oblast Tula Oblast Ryazan Oblast
Ural Bank	Sverdlovsk Oblast Chelyabinsk Oblast Kurgan Oblast Bashkortostan
Central Black Earth Bank	Voronezh Oblast Oryol Oblast Lipetsk Oblast Kursk Oblast Belgorod Oblast Tambov Oblast
South Western Bank	Rostov Oblast Krasnodar Krai Adygea

International presence

Sberbank office in Atyrau, Kazakhstan

Belarus	BPS Sberbank
Kazakhstan	Sberbank of Russia
Ukraine	Sberbank of Russia
Turkey	DenizBank
Austria	Sberbank Europe
Slovenia	Sberbank Europe
Croatia	Sberbank Europe
Bosnia_and_Herzegovina	Sberbank Europe
Serbia	Sberbank Europe
Hungary	Sberbank Europe
Czech_Republic	Sberbank Europe
Slovakia	Sberbank Europe

Sponsorship

File:IceClimbingDemonstration at the Winter Olympics Sochi2014.jpg

Presentation of ice climbing in the Olympic Park of Sochi at the 2014 Winter Olympics, sponsored by Sberbank

Sberbank sponsors sports and charity events in various regions of Russia, as well as educational projects including projects developing financial literacy.

Criticism

Not returning of citizens' deposits

"Sberbank of Russia" is an assignee of saving banks of former USSR, all assets of which belonged to the state. In process of liberalization of prices in the beginning of 1990's the state and Sberbank, in fact, refused assuring citizens' deposits, which resulted in their landslide depreciation, which, in its turn, induced dramatic discontent of population. Since 1996 partial compensation of depositors' losses is carried out.

Low level of service

In the 2000 Sberbank was repeatedly blamed for low level of service and lots of inconveniences in the bank's departments. In the subsequent years, Sberbank has introduced new services and improved the quality of some of its existing services. My mid-2010s, the bank was among the market leaders in the quality of some client services, such as services for retail depositors, premium services and others.

Ukrainian accusation of funding for terrorism in Ukraine

See also: Do not buy Russian goods!

File:Boycott Russian bank.jpg

Graffiti "It's a Russian bank" near the department of bank in Oleksandriia, Ukraine

In April 2014, several Ukrainian officials accused "Sberbank" of funding of actions, which took place in the East and South of Ukraine, including terrorism. The bank denied any involvement in the financing of illegal activities on the territory of Ukraine, which was later confirmed by an examination carried out by the National Bank of Ukraine.

In late 2013 and early 2014 the bank's network had become a target of the Do not buy Russian goods! campaign. Ukrainian activists appealed not to use Sberbank's services because of their Russian origin. The boycott had become widespread in March 2014 in connection with the Crimean crisis and 2014 Russian military intervention in Ukraine with a wave of protest actions against Russian banks in Ukraine, and against Sberbank of Russia in particular. Banks were vandalized in particular after the accusations of funding of terrorism in Ukraine.

See also

• Banking in Russia
• Sberkassa
• VTB Bank

External links

• Official website