Sberbank's strategy for international presence unaffected by latest sanctions - Gref

MOSCOW. June 21 (Interfax) - The sanctions recently imposed by the United States are not having an additional impact on Sberbank's strategy for its international presence, the president and CEO of Russia's biggest lender, Herman Gref told reporters at the bank's annual general meeting on Friday.

"We will continue to develop and deepen cooperation with friendly countries with a focus on settlements in national currencies and servicing mutual trade. Branches are divisions of Sberbank and all restrictions already applied to them earlier. Therefore, the recent sanctions are not having a new influence on the strategy for our foreign presence. Furthermore, we are analyzing opportunities for cooperation in areas such as education, healthcare, cybersecurity, biometrics, voice recognition and development of artificial intelligence," Gref said.

The U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) updated information on Sberbank's foreign offices in China and India on June 12. Sberbank has been subject to U.S. blocking sanctions since April 2022.