OREANDA-NEWS. On June 27, 2008 Sberbank's GSM approved the Bank's 2007 Annual Report and Financial Statements, including:
Balance Sheet as at 1 January 2008 in the amount of RUB 8,593,852,016,884.26

Income & Loss Statement inclusive of post-reporting events and pre-tax profit in the amount of RUB 153,063,402,080.85

Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows inclusive of post-reporting events in the amount of RUB 8,588,274,125,796,34, reported the press-centre of Sberbank.

The meeting noted that working in an environment of accelerating economic growth in Russia and increased domestic demand for the banking services, Sberbank continued to dynamically develop all its businesses, delivered an impressive performance and again proved itself the leader of the national banking system.

In 2007, the net assets of the Bank grew by 41,6% to RUB 5,060 bn as at 1 January 2008. Its net profit was RUB 116,7 bn (32,8% growth year on year).

The equity grew by 96,3% to RUB 682 bn due to higher profits and an additional share issue which contributed RUB 230,2 bn to the capital. As a result, the ROAE reduced from 28,6 to 20,4%, and ROAA from 2,9 to 2,7%.

Herman Gref, Chairman of the Board and CEO, noted that the Bank was first of all looking to meet in full the demands of its customers in a context of prevailing rapid growth of the national economy. The share issue proceeds brought additional funding which was used for developing the Banks lending business.

Sberbank's assets stayed at one quarter of the aggregate banking assets of Russia, and the Bank had 51,4% market share in deposits, 17,9% in corporate funds, 32,1% in retail loans and 32,7% in corporate lending.

Sberbank made about 30% of the total Russian banking sector's income for 2007. Good performance results, successful share issue, subsequent share split and launch of quarterly IFRS reports boosted the Bank's investor attractiveness. Last year, the Bank's common shares quoted further 22,5%, outperforming the RTS index growth (19,2%).

A rise in share price moved Sberbank from number 4 up to number 2 by capitalisation among top Russian companies.

An outstanding performance in 2007 will translate into sizeable dividends for the shareholders. The meeting approved the 2007 profit distribution and dividend payment of RUB 0,51 per share of common stock and RUB 0,65 per share of preferred stock, proposed by the Supervisory Board.

The Bank's reliability, performance and unblemished reputation in Russia and worldwide are mirrored in good ratings from major international rating agencies. Its international ratings are investment grade and level with Russian Federation's sovereign ratings. Sberbank's long-term rating is ВВВ+ (Fitch Ratings) and Ваа2 from Moody's Investor Service. Sberbank carries the highest national rating of ААА.ru from Moody's.

Sberbank's international obligations under its MTN programme are also investment grade: ВВВ+ from Fitch Ratings, level with Russian Eurobonds; and A2 from Moody's, above Russian Eurobonds (Ваа2).

Sberbank's subordinated obligations are rated BBB by Fitch Ratings, and A2 by Moody's.
The Bank's performance is duly reflected in its rankings.

- In The Banker ranking, Sberbank is the only Russian bank in the top 100 banks of the world for 2007 and is number 66 by Tier I capital by IFRS in the top 1,000 credit institutions. It is a solid number one among the major banks of Central and Eastern Europe. It is Bank of the Year 2007 in Russia (The Banker).

- In September 2007, Sberbank was included in Barron's top 100 most reputable companies of the world.

- In the Forbes annual ranking of top 2,000 companies of the world, Sberbank holds the 214th position.

The meeting elected the new Supervisory Board and Auditing Commission. Sergei Ignatiev, Chairman of the Central Bank of Russia, was elected Chairman of the Supervisory Board. Vladimir Volkov, Deputy Director and Chief of Accounting at the Central Bank of Russia, was elected Chairman of the Auditing Commission.

ZAO PricewaterhouseCoopers Audit was approved as Sberbank's auditor for the 2008 financial year.

The meeting approved amendments to Sberbank's Charter and decided to pay remuneration to the members of the Supervisory Board and Auditing Commission.