SOCHI (Sputnik) — Russia's Sberbank is on the final stage of the formation of its European team and is planning to suspend operations in some "small" countries of the region, CEO Herman Gref said Thursday.
"We are on the final stage of the formation of our team in Europe, its reformation. And there is a probability that we will leave some small countries," Gref told journalists.
Sberbank currently operates in such EU countries as Austria, Germany, Croatia, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia and the Czech Republic. The financial institution also has branches in several non-EU member states in the region, namely Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ukraine and Serbia.
The principal shareholder of Sberbank is Russia's Central Bank, with 50 percent of the share capital plus one voting share.