SBER.L Regulatory News (SBER)

Sberbank Europe AG signs share purchase agreement to sell certain subsidiary banks in CEE in order to focus on key markets 

November 3, 2021, Vienna

On 3 November 2021, Sberbank Europe AG signed an agreement with AIK Banka a.d. Beograd, Gorenjska Banka d.d., Kranj and Agri Europe Cyprus Limited for the sale of its subsidiary banks in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Sberbank BH d.d. Sarajevo and Sberbank a.d. Banja Luka), Croatia (Sberbank d.d.), Hungary (Sberbank Magyarország Zrt.), Serbia (Sberbank Srbija a.d. Beograd) and Slovenia (Sberbank banka d.d.), with total assets of EUR 7.329 bn, 162 branches and around 600,000 clients (as of YE 2020).

Sberbank Europe AG has decided to reduce its geographic presence in CEE in order to focus on key markets and explore new business models. Sberbank CZ, a.s. in the Czech Republic remains under the ownership of Sberbank Europe AG and will continue with its present business model.  

After careful analyses of several options, the transaction with AIK Banka, Gorenjska Banka and Agri Europe Cyprus Limited resulted to be the most attractive one from Sberbank Europe AG perspective.

The purchasers have a large regional presence as well as a clear vision of the future development, supporting further growth of the banks and ensuring that the clients will continue to receive services of the same high quality.

The closing of the transaction is subject to approvals by national and international regulators as well as by national competition authorities and is expected to take place in 2022.

The deal will generate proceeds around EUR 500 mln, which include the sale of the shares and the replacement of the funding provided by Sber. Sber expects neutral financial result and limited impact on capital adequacy ratios from the deal in Consolidated financial statements of the Group.

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About Sberbank Europe

Sberbank Europe AG, headquartered in Vienna, Austria, is a banking group 100% owned by Sberbank of Russia, which is the largest bank in Russia and in Central and Eastern Europe, servicing more than 100 million customers. Sberbank Europe Group is present in Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Slovenia and Serbia. In 2014, Sberbank Europe entered the retail banking business in Germany, establishing itself as a successful direct bank with attractive savings and loan products in a competitive and dynamic market. By the end of Q3 2021, Sberbank Direct reports a deposit volume of EUR 1.2 billion and a total loan volume of more than EUR 600 million since launching its first retail and fully digital loan on the German market in 2018. Sberbank Europe Group has around 800,000 customers, operates 187 branches, and counts over 3,900 employees across Europe. The total assets of Sberbank Europe amount to EUR 13 billion (as of 31 December 2021).

Website: www.sberbank.at

About Sberbank

PJSC Sberbank is Russia's largest bank and a leading global financial institution. Holding almost one-third of aggregate Russian banking sector assets, Sberbank is the key lender to the national economy and one of the biggest deposit takers in Russia. The Government of the Russian Federation represented by the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation is the principal shareholder of PJSC Sberbank owning 50% plus one voting share of the bank's authorized capital, with the remaining 50% minus one voting share held by domestic and international investors. Sberbank has customers in 18 countries. The bank has a major distribution network in Russia with about 14,000 branches, while its international operations - subsidiary banks, branches, and chapters - include the UK, US, CIS, Central and Eastern Europe, India, China, and other countries. It holds general banking license No. 1481 dd. August 11, 2015, from the Bank of Russia. Official websites of the bank: www.sberbank.com (Sberbank Group website), www.sberbank.ru.

In 2020 Sberbank underwent a rebranding, offering financial and non-financial services of the bank and Sberbank Group to individual and corporate customers. Today, the Sber ecosystem is a raft of services for life and daily assistance in handling pressing everyday issues for individual customers and businesses. The Sber ecosystem website: www.sber.ru.