Sberbank not planning to transfer blocked assets to separate legal entity, problem already solved

MOSCOW. June 14 (Interfax) - Sberbank does not intend to use the option of netting blocked assets and transfer them to a separate legal entity, as it has already resolved this issue.

"We're not considering such a possibility. In general, it should be said that we have managed to sell almost all of our such assets in one way or another," the president and CEO of Russia's largest lender, Herman Gref said in an interview with RBC.

The bank has resolved this issue even with its European assets, he added.

Gref also said that Sberbank is not interested in buying the assets of foreign banks that are winding down their business in Russia.

Russian federal law 292-FZ, which went into effect in the summer of 2022, allows banks subject to sanctions to restructure by setting up a new legal entity and transferring to it assets frozen due to sanctions, along with liabilities in the form of obligations to foreign creditors. After this, all payments on debts to nonresident clients are made only with the assets of the new company. This option expires on December 31, 2023.