OREANDA-NEWS. March 22, 2013. Herman Gref, CEO and Chairman of the Management Board of Sberbank of Russia, was today in Prague to celebrate the official start of operations under the Sberbank brand in Europe. Sberbank, Europe’s third largest bank, operates in the Czech Republic as Sberbank CZ following the successful renaming of Volksbank CZ.

Sberbank of Russia is one of the leading banks in Europe and among the world’s foremost financial institutions. Sberbank CZ will now be able to leverage the Sberbank brand to further enhance the services it provides for both retail and corporate clients in the Czech Republic. Its flagship branch is now open for customers on Na Prikope Street in Prague, offering full scope of services. The branch includes an iPad zone and client touchscreens.

Sberbank CZ will now focus on developing its offer and reach in both corporate and retail banking, whilst looking to assist its clients in creation and development of relationships with the CIS and Russian markets through the Sberbank brand. The rebranding follows the renaming of Volksbank CZ to Sberbank CZ announced in February and constitutes part of Sberbank’s wider programme to integrate and rebrand its operations in Central and Eastern Europe.

Speaking in Prague, to announce the official start of rebranding, Herman Gref said:
“I am delighted to announce the start of Sberbank brand and the first results of the rebranding. Sberbank of Russia is proud of services and branches it provides for customers and we look forward to offering clients in the CEE the same level of excellence and commitment to quality. Sberbank has a unique philosophy and corporate culture which we believe will give the bank a strong platform from which to grow and develop both its offering and customer base in the Czech Republic”.

“As an important part of one of the largest, fastest growing, and dynamic banking organisations in the world – we at Sberbank Europe aspire to be recognised as a game-changing innovator, an emerging leader in CEE banking with growing presence and recognition in Western Europe. Under the Sberbank brand we want to build on trust and technology and become modern, successful and consistently customer-oriented leader in the market,“ said Mark Arnold, Chairman of the Management Board and CEO of Sberbank Europe AG.

The sole shareholder of Sberbank CZ is Sberbank Europe AG, a subsidiary company of Sberbank of Russia, and headquartered in Vienna. The banking group manages a network of nine universal banks in eight Central and Eastern European countries: Slovakia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia and the Ukraine. Sberbank acquired Volksbank International in February 2012.

Sberbank was ranked the world’s 13th most valuable banking brand, at \\$14.2 billion, in 2012, a rise of nearly \\$3.4 billion from 2011. Sberbank’s brand also remains the most valuable in Russia and second among the European banks.