OREANDA-NEWS. August 28, 2009. Sberbank intends to complete construction and sell real estate projects obtained as a result of borrowers’ arrears, Deputy Chairman of Sberbank Evgeny Korolev said. “We will complete construction and sell to those who offer the best price. Our task is to return as much money as possible”, he said.

Sberbank has become the first Russian creditor to disclose its plans concerning real estate assets obtained by banks ever more frequently as a result of debt repayment. Sberbank’s subsidiary Sberbank Capital has gained control over the real estate developer projects of at least two borrowers – a stake in the City of Capitals project (Gorod Stolits) with 60,000 sq m developed by Capital Group and the premises of Alpi hypermarkets.

The best-case scenario for the bank is to sell such projects immediately on the open market. “For instance, we already possess finished apartments which we have received as a breakup fee. These are finished apartments for sale”, he said. For that, a special-purpose auction house was established along with the Saint Petersburg administration for the sale of non-core assets where “everything that can be sold” will be auctioned off, Korolev added. The second option considered by the bank is to search for a professional real estate developer or an asset manager.