OREANDA-NEWS. A meeting between Herman Gref, CEO, Chairman of the Executive Board of Sberbank, and Guo Zhiwen, Chairman of the Board of Directors at Harbin Bank, was held at Sberbank headquarters.

Parties discussed relevant directions of bilateral cooperation between the banks: correspondent banking relations and client settlements in national currencies, trade financing, operations in global markets and the banknote business. The importance of technological and information exchange was highlighted.

The heads of banks attended the signing of an agreement on intern exchange. The agreement was signed by Evgeny Titov, Chairman of the Board of Sberbank's Dalnevostochny Bank, and Zhou Ze, Managing Director at Russian & CIS Division of Harbin Bank.

"Signing of the agreement is a logical development of the partnership between Sberbank and Harbin Bank - our strategic partner bank in China", Herman Gref noted. "The intern exchange will help us to better understand each other, bring our cultures closer, and get acquainted with each other's technologies and operations. In the long run, this will contribute to achieving better results in a mutually beneficial partnership in relevant directions: trade financing, operations in global markets, correspondent banking relations and client settlements."

"Signing of the agreement on intern exchange is another acknowledgement of a strong partnership between Harbin Bank and Sberbank", Guo Zhiwen said. "Intern exchange will allow each party to accustom to the partner's cultural differences, customs and business model. It will broaden partnership opportunities, which will benefit both parties in the long term".