OREANDA-NEWS. Sberbank and the Government of Samara Region have signed a Cooperation Agreement. The Agreement was signed at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum by Herman Gref, CEO, Chairman of Sberbank Executive Board of Sberbank, and Nikolay Merkushkin, the Governor of Samara Region.

The primary objective of this Agreement is financial and credit cooperation aiming at triggering social and economic development of the region. The Agreement entails a number of aspects: collaborative implementation of investment projects aiming to increase the volume of gross regional product and to diversify the economy sector-wise; development and support of small and medium enterprises; implementation of the infrastructural development programs, residential development programs and land improvements programs; restructuring housing and utilities infrastructure.

Among other cooperation objectives under the Agreement are support and development of social and cultural sphere, financial assistance to executive authorities and state-funded organizations.

Sberbank is Russia’s largest bank and a leading global financial institution. Sberbank holds almost one third of aggregate Russian banking sector assets, it is the key lender to the national economy and the biggest deposit taker in Russia. The Central Bank of the Russian Federation is the founder and principal shareholder of Sberbank owning 50% of the Bank's authorized capital plus one voting share, with the remaining 50% held by domestic and international investors. Sberbank has more than 135 million individual customers and more than 1 million corporate clients in 22 countries. Sberbank has the largest distribution network in Russia with almost 17,000 branches, and its international operations include UK, US, CIS, Central and Eastern Europe, Turkey and other countries.