Sberbank Ukraine's office in Kyiv / Photo from UNIAN
Russia's Sberbank has announced it has signed a legally binding agreement on the sale of Sberbank PJSC (Ukraine) to a consortium of investors, according to an official announcement by the bank.
"The consortium will include Norvik Banka (Latvia) and a Belarusian private company," the announcement said.
The legally binding contract was signed on Monday, March 27.
The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2017 after receiving approval by the financial and antimonopoly regulators of relevant jurisdictions, including Latvia and Ukraine.
Sberbank PJSC (Ukraine) has all the necessary means to fulfill its liabilities to private and corporate clients.
"We hope that the decision to sell our subsidiary bank will help to unblock its offices and to renew its normal work, which will allow the bank's customers to continue using the services of one of the most stable and efficient banks in Ukraine without interference, and will create a basis for its further development," Sberbank said.
Read alsoRussian Sberbank introduces new restrictions on cash withdrawals in Ukraine"Due to the quick sale of the bank, a loss on investment in the subsidiary bank's capital will be reflected in the financial results of Sberbank PJSC under the Russian Accounting Standards. Yet, the effect of the deal on the consolidated IFRS results of Sberbank Group will not be tangible," it said.
As UNIAN reported earlier, a campaign against Russian banks in Ukraine started on March 13 when Ukrainian activists blocked the entrance and windows of the building of Sberbank Ukraine's head office with concrete blocks. Other offices across Ukraine were also the target of vandalism.
Ukraine's authorities on March 16 imposed sanctions on Sberbank and other Russian state-owned banks operating in Ukraine as part of a broader flare-up in tensions linked to occupied Donbas backed by Russia.