Gref: share of nonresidents in Sberbank capital declines and is now only third of total, including 5% in non-convertible ADR

MOSCOW. April 21 (Interfax) - The share of nonresidents in the capital of Sberbank has decreased and amounts to one third, Sberbank President and Chairman of the Management Board Herman Gref said at a press conference on Friday.

"It has shrunk considerably and is about one-third, including about 5% in non-convertible receipts [American Depositary Receipts, ADRs] and investments of nonresidents from friendly countries," Gref said.

Sberbank cannot provide an exact figure regarding what volume of funds of foreign shareholders will be credited to C-type accounts when the lender pays dividends.

"Dividend payments require disclosure of final beneficiaries. However, unfortunately, the Western infrastructure for corporate activities is not currently available, so it will only be possible to assess the full amount of funds that will go to C-accounts here only after all the ultimate owners have been identified. Now this whole issue has become very complicated," the Sberbank chief said.

It was reported earlier that the share of nonresident legal entities in the capital of Sberbank was 44.37% at the end of 2021, with retail investors owning 3.71% of the bank's capital and Russian companies owning 1.92%.

The main shareholder of Sberbank with 50% plus 1 share (52.32% of votes) is the Russian Government.