Sberbank’s deputy chairman Sergey Gorkov has
emphasised the Russian bank’s interest in expanding its operations
into Asia, and particularly India.
Speaking to Banking & Payments
Asia at the sidelines of the recent Russia-Singapore Business
Forum, Gorkov said Sberbank has traditionally been inactive in the
Asian banking sector. In spite of this past inactivity, Gorkov said
the bank recognises that Asia is a huge market.
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Asked if Sberbank is planning to enter the
retail banking sector in the Asia-Pacific region, Gorkov said the
first step for the bank would be to establish corporate banking
activities in the region before launching retail banking
operations.
Attraction of India
Gorkov said Sberbank is very interested in
India’s banking market. He said: “China is a very closed market for
retail banking and I think India would be the first step.”
Assessing the potential impact of the European
sovereign debt crisis on Russian banks, Gorkov explained that
Russian banks are unlikely to be particularly affected by the
crisis, and it was instead a much larger problem for French
banks.
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By GlobalDataGorkov’s comments need to be viewed within
Sberbank’s development strategy to 2014. This involves developing
its business in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and
seeking expansion opportunities outside the CIS.
An example of this strategy in action can be
seen in autumn 2010 when Sberbank registered a branch office in New
Delhi in India. The branch office was established as a strategic
platform for the development of Sberbank’s business and will be
primarily engaged in handling foreign trade settlement flows
between India and Russian and other CIS states in which Sberbank
conducts its business.
China office
In June 2010, Sberbank also received approval
from the China Banking Regulatory Commission to open a
representative office in Beijing. The office is set to develop
relations with local banking and government structures in order to
promote Sberbank’s business and that of its clients in the
region.
Sberbank is the largest credit institution in
Russia and the CIS. It accounted for 48% of retail deposits and 32%
of consumer loans in Russia as of 1 January 2011. In 2010, Sberbank
recorded a net profit of RUB181.6bn ($5.9bn) – compared to a
net profit of RUB 24.4bn ($788.5m) in 2009.
