In Sevastopol, Sberbank marked the opening of its fifth retail office on November 8, a milestone announced by the bank’s president, German Gref, during the Finopolis forum. The expansion highlights Sber’s continued footprint in Crimea as it broadens its branch network in the region and signals a commitment to meeting the everyday banking needs of residents and visitors alike.
Today, November 8, the bank reported the opening of another office in Sevastopol, bringing the total in the city to five for retail customers. Sber’s Crimea branch network is projected to reach a total of 15 offices by year end, reflecting a strategic push to improve access to personal banking services across the peninsula, including mortgages, consumer loans, and residential credit options.
Gref emphasized strong customer engagement, noting that 106 thousand people had visited Sber’s offices in Crimea within six months. He pointed to steady activity in key product areas such as mortgages, consumer loans, and credit card applications, illustrating a healthy demand for a full spectrum of financial products in the region. This momentum aligns with a broader effort to support households and small businesses as the region continues to evolve financially.
He highlighted that the bank’s personal loan portfolio in Crimea has surpassed 9 billion rubles, and its share in the housing loans market has reached 13 percent. The volume of approved commercial loans stood at 46 billion rubles, underscoring Sber’s expanding role in both personal borrowing and business finance in Crimea. The figures illustrate a multi-layer approach to lending that serves families buying homes and enterprises seeking working capital or expansion funds.
There was also a forward-looking note about biometric payments. The bank signaled that by year-end, hundreds of thousands of payment terminals across Russia would be equipped to support a biometric express option described as paying with a smile. This capability would be enabled through biometric data stored in the Unified Biometric System USB and would allow customers enrolled in USB to use the feature at participating banks and retailers, subject to regulatory and security considerations. The move embodies a trend toward frictionless payments that could resonate with travelers and cross-border shoppers in North America as digital wallets and biometric verification gain traction.
Gref added that Sberbank would not discontinue commercial biometric systems. Instead, these systems would be integrated with the state’s biometric infrastructure, aligning with broader global patterns where private and public sector biometric solutions converge to streamline transactions and bolster security. The aim is to create a seamless experience for customers while maintaining rigorous safeguards around sensitive data.
In related reflections, Sberbank has previously discussed the resilience of its digital and biometric platforms in the face of evolving cybersecurity threats, emphasizing the importance of robust defenses and continual updates to safeguard customer data and financial operations. This focus on security resonates strongly with consumers in Canada and the United States, where financial institutions prioritize risk management and user trust as core elements of digital banking adoption.
The announcements occur amid ongoing discussions about the region’s financial services access and the role of large state-backed banks in Crimea’s banking ecosystem. Sberbank’s renewed commitment to expanding its physical network, alongside modernizing digital and biometric capabilities, signals a multi-channel strategy designed to meet diverse customer needs across traditional and new payment ecosystems. The approach aims to deliver convenient, secure, and scalable financial services for residents and visitors, while aligning with broader national strategies for financial inclusion and digital payments. Source: Sberbank press materials and public remarks at Finopolis.