Sberbank appeals EU decision on Sberbank Europe bankruptcy, Croatian and Slovenian subsidiary sales

MOSCOW. Nov 21 (Interfax) - Sberbank has appealed to the EU Court of Justice against decisions by the Single Resolution Board or SRB regarding Sberbank Europe AG and its subsidiaries Sberbank d.d. in Croatia and Sberbank banka d.d. in Slovenia.

Three separate pleas were made in August, according to the EU Journal, which details them.

Sberbank seeks to annul the SRB decision of March 1, 2022 on assessment of the conditions for resolution in respect of Sberbank Europe AG together with the Valuation Report issued by the SRB on February 27, 2022; and to annul SRB decisions on the adoption of a resolution scheme in respect of the Croatian and Slovenian subsidiaries as well as valuation reports.

Interfax has asked Sberbank to comment.

The European Central Bank said at the end of February that Sberbank Europe AG was at risk of bankruptcy, along with its subdivisions in Croatia and Slovenia, due to liquidity problems amid the worsening of the geopolitical situation. The Single Resolution Board introduced a 24-hour moratorium on the activities of Sberbank Europe AG in Austria, Sberbank d.d. in Croatia, and Sberbank banka d.d. in Slovenia.

The SRB said at the beginning of March that it had decided to transfer all the shares in the Croatian subsidiary of Sberbank Europe to Hrvatska Postanska Banka and all shares in the Slovenian subsidiary to Nova ljubljanska banka or NLB Group, the largest banking and financial group in Slovenia. It was decided to liquidate Austria-based Sberbank Europe AG.

Sberbank's first deputy CEO, Alexander Vedyakhin, told Interfax in an interview in June that Sberbank Europe had capital and assets. It had settled with the Austrian Deposit Insurance Agency and almost all account holders.

"The situation with subsidiaries of Sberbank Europe AG has turned out to be more complicated. Five Balkan banks were sold by regulators to local players, and we have not yet received funds from this sale, and the Serbian National Bank has not decided on the price. Regulators made decisions to revoke banking licenses for banks in Hungary and the Czech Republic, and the process of liquidation is underway," he added.

Sberbank planned to challenge these decisions. "We have hired lawyers and will try to get the money back. All the banks had a large reserve of capital and liquidity. The sale of the loan portfolio fully covered all liabilities to depositors, and there was still money left over. If the loan portfolios or the banks themselves were sold for next to nothing, we will defend Sber's interests in all possible courts. We have already begun this process," Vedyakhin said.