Sberbank - statistics & facts
Not only is Sberbank the largest bank in Russia in terms of assets, but it has also become the core of Sber, one of the country's major digital ecosystems. A state-owned banking and financial services company headquartered in Moscow, Sberbank owns an asset portfolio roughly twice the size of its main competitor, VTB. Despite being sanctioned by the European Union (EU) and the United States and cut off the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) over the Russia-Ukraine war, it ranks among the leading 10 leading banks in Europe by market capitalization. In 2022 and 2023, Sberbank withdrew from the European market, closed its office in the United Arab Emirates, and sold its subsidiary in Kazakhstan as a result of the sanctions' pressure.
Even though the position of Sberbank in the international banking sector was weakened by Western sanctions, the bank remains the leading market player in the Russian financial services industry. This was reflected in its strengthened financial results for 2023 and an increase in customers.
The market position of Sberbank in Russia
Sberbank's financial results improved in 2023 despite the sanctions. Its net profit exceeded 1.5 trillion Russian rubles, having significantly increased from the previous year. Moreover, Sberbank made it to the ranking of the most profitable companies worldwide. The bank's share in total market loans to private customers has steadily grown over the years. In 2023, nearly 48 percent of all loans to private customers in the Russian financial market were attributable to Sberbank, an increase from the previous year. Sberbank also occupied a key position in other banking sectors, such as loans to corporate clients, private deposits, and corporate deposits.Sberbank as an employer
In line with the company's digital transformation and personnel optimization policies, the number of people working for Sberbank was in decline in recent years, though it increased slightly in 2023. As of that year, around 210,800 people were employed by the bank. In terms of gender distribution, roughly two-thirds of Sberbank's employees were women. In 2024, the bank ranked fourth among the best employer companies according to university graduates in Russia.Sberbank in the era of digitalization
The value of digital payments in Russia increased each year until 2022, and only in 2023 the figures saw a decrease, which could be the impact of Western digital payment providers like Apple Pay and PayPal suspending their operations in the country. As of 2023, Sberbank counted over 108 million active online and mobile banking users, a 1.7-percent increase from the previous year.Even though the position of Sberbank in the international banking sector was weakened by Western sanctions, the bank remains the leading market player in the Russian financial services industry. This was reflected in its strengthened financial results for 2023 and an increase in customers.
