Russia's top lender Sberbank, which agreed the purchase of Austria's Volksbank for 585 million euros this fall, has bought SLB, the Swiss banking subsidiary of Russian oil company LUKoil, in order to further expand into Europe, Sberbank said on Friday.
Sberbank acquired 99.145 percent in SLB Commercial Bank AG for 75.351 million Swiss francs. The amount of the transaction is subject to adjustment later based on the results of the preparation of SLB's financial statements as of the deal date, the Russian bank said in a statement.
"Acquisition of a bank in Switzerland is a logical continuation of efforts of Sberbank’s corporate and investment block team to expand the geography of presence and product range of the bank. We consider the bank in Switzerland to be our outpost in the Western Europe, which in addition to business opportunities will bring the experience of independent management and regulation by local supervisory authorities to Sberbank’s system," Sberbank Deputy Chairman of the Management Board Andrey Donskih was quoted in the statement as saying.
SLB will be rebranded into Sberbank (Switzerland) AG and will provide syndicated lending and trade finance business in Europe, and also various products for top corporate clients.
