Sberbank - commercial or state bank?

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

JSC Sberbank is the largest financial institution not only in Russia, but also in the CIS. It has a large network of divisions. The main area of activity of the institution is the provision of a wide range of investment and banking services. The main shareholder and at the same time the founder of the financial institution is the Central Bank of the Russian Federation. It is he who owns more than half of the authorized capital and a voting share. About 40% of the shares are owned by foreign companies. The position of the president of the institution and chairman of the board belongs to German Gref.

A bit of history

Central Sberbank began its history in 1841. It was during that period that Emperor Nicholas 1 issued a decree on the formation of savings banks. The first cash desk was opened already in 1842 on the territory of St. Petersburg. In 1987, it was she who served as the basis for the formation of a savings bank and lending to the population, including legal entities. The structure of the financial institution included 15 banks of a republican character. At that time, it was very problematic to say unequivocally, Sberbank -commercial or public financial institution. Starting from the summer of 1990, according to the decision of the Supreme Council of Russia, the "Republican Bank" was officially recognized as the property of the Russian Federation. By the end of 1990, the financial institution was transformed into a bank. In 1991, it was already possible to unequivocally answer the question of whether Sberbank was a commercial or state bank. After the institution became the property of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, it received the official status of a joint-stock commercial bank.

Moments of crisis and government assistance

During the default period in 1998, the financial institution successfully coped with the problems not only thanks to higher fees for services, but also due to state support. The shares of Sberbank are mostly owned by the Central Bank of Russia, which explains the government's interest in the functioning of the institution. A similar scheme of mutual support helped the financial institution to get out of the 2008 crisis as well. Thus, in 2010, the bank has already completely abolished fees associated with mortgages, consumer loans and car loans. Individuals were credited at individual rates. This situation caused difficulty when considering whether Sberbank was a commercial or state bank, since the institution offered many preferential programs in the post-crisis period.

Bank outside of Russia

In 2012, Russia's largest bank has already received the title of leader in the issuance of credit cards. The amount of loans issued so faramounted to more than 150 billion rubles. In parallel, a sale of 7.6% of the shares was carried out for a total amount of more than 5 billion rubles. The answer to the question: Is Sberbank a commercial or state bank? lies in its structure. The financial institution has three subsidiaries in the CIS. Branches of the financial institution successfully operate in Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Belarus. Representative offices are also available in Europe. These are Sberbank Europe AG with an office in Austria, DenizBank with a head office in Turkey and Sberbank Switzerland AG with an official representative office in Germany. Representative offices of the organization are still in India and China.

Bank activity today

The answer to the question as to whether Sberbank is a state or commercial bank is obvious. The commercial structure occupies a leading position in terms of the volume of assets, as well as in terms of the number of settlement accounts of corporate clients, of which there are at least a million. Despite the fact that the shares of Sberbank are mainly owned by the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, it continues to flourish as an independent institution, accounting for at least 45% of private deposits in the domestic market. About 11 million people receive wages through the financial institution, more than 12 million people receive pensions. The financial institution has installed about 19,000 ATMs and 70,000 self-service terminals throughout the country and issued more than 30 million plastic cards. The number of staff in the main office has long exceeded the figure of 240 people. The territorial network includes 18 thousand units. The Sberbank Online@yn and Mobile Bank applications are being actively developed. The client base of remote systems has at least 5.4 million users.

General data

"Sberbank", whose system is very extensive, offers a wide range of services, ranging from different types of lending to brokerage services. Among the clients of the commercial institute there are not only individuals, but also corporate clients, which account for 1/5 of the loan portfolio. The financial institution's assets are differentiated as follows: the loan portfolio occupies 71% (73% of the loan portfolio are loans issued to enterprises and organizations), the securities portfolio covers 14%, cash on accounts and in cash - 5%. Liabilities are structured as follows: retail deposits account for 46%, corporate account balances 23%, equity within 15% and interbank loans cover 11%.

Form of ownership: "Sberbank of Russia" - commercial or state bank?

The documentary side of the issue is very contradictory. Let's try to understand gradually whether Sberbank is a state or commercial bank. By the type of its activity and based on everything written above, the structure conducts exclusively commercial activities. As for the form of ownership, it is state-owned. Whereinthe authorized capital, as the property of the Central Bank, has the format of federal property. A commercial bank is partly owned by the public sector of the economy. At the same time, the state does not bear any responsibility for the debts of the bank, and the bank for the debts of the state. The fact that a financial institution belongs to the category of open joint-stock companies indicates its commercial structure. In accordance with the registration number of the enterprise, it belongs to the category of mixed Russian property with part of the federal property.