Since the introduction of its co-financing, Sberbank has processed 17 billion rubles using Islamic banking instruments. This was expressed by Sberbank Senior Vice President Oleg Ganeev during the XIV International Economic Forum “Russia-Islamic World” in Kazan.
“25 million people live Islam in Russia. 7.5 million of these are potential customers of the co-financing segment and this number will increase further. Currently, we have processed 17 billion rubles worth of transactions with the help of Islamic financial instruments. These include, for example, international transactions for the supply of grain. We continue to develop our product line,” said Ganeev.
He noted that one of the factors hindering the growth of Islamic banking in the Russian Federation is the lack of specialized experts. That is why he stressed that the “Islamic finance” educational program was created at the University of Sber.
According to Ganeev, the number of people who want to receive training under this program is 2-2.5 times higher than the estimates of Sberbank representatives.
Tatarstan President Rustam Minnikhanov, who was present at the forum, thanked Sberbank for its determination to promote Islamic finance.
“The whole world is taking advantage of this opportunity, and this is a good chance to find new investors in the Islamic world, especially given the current situation in which Western financial markets are closed to Russia,” President Erdogan said. We are grateful for the first Islamic finance office that Sber opened in Tatarstan at the end of last year.