Sberbank started working in Crimea

Sberbank announced that it is entering the Crimean market. The first ATMs have already been installed on the peninsula, and a team has also been formed.

“Gradually during 2023, the bank’s offices will be opened, the first of them in the largest cities will start working in the first half of the year. During the year, all the necessary services and services of Sberbank will be deployed,” the press service of the bank said.

“The arrival of such a major player as Sberbank will further increase the availability, speed and quality of banking services for the population, will positively affect the financial and investment climate, the development of the economy and the social sphere,” wrote the head of the Republic of Crimea Sergey Aksyonov in his Telegram channel.

Governor of Sevastopol Mikhail Razvozhaev hopedthat the bank’s office in Sevastopol will start operating in the first half of the year – now a place is being selected for it.

Sberbank did not work in Crimea due to US and EU sanctions imposed on the region after the region was annexed to Russia. Before the referendum in 2014, a Ukrainian subsidiary of Sberbank operated on the peninsula. At the same time, according to the financial marketplace “Compare.ru”, it was possible to use Sberbank cards in Crimea to pay for purchases, problems arose when withdrawing cash. After Sberbank came under blocking Western sanctions, Georgy Muradov, permanent representative of Crimea, called on the financial institution to start working in the region.

On March 17, 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin called on big businesses and banks to start working in Crimea without fear of foreign sanctions. Promsvyazbank was the first Russian bank to enter the Crimean market. it occurred April, 4. Prior to this, the key bank in the region was RNKB, which became part of the VTB Group.

Read about Sberbank’s financial performance for 2022 in material “b”.

Mikhail Belyaev