One of Russia’s largest banks Sberbank is considering putting some of its European branches up for sale as it looks to economise through a combination of staff cuts and property disposals. The bank currently operates in nine European countries – Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Germany and Ukraine. A source close to the bank told Vedomosti that each branch is now required to secure its own liquidity, and to attract retail deposits through its own efforts, and the Czech newspaper Lidovky ran a story last month suggesting that it was prepared to sell its branches in Slovakia and Hungary. Sberbank’s access to long-term funding from international capital markets has been severely restricted by sanctions.
Sberbank may sell European branches in bid to cut costs
Source: rbth