Sberbank may team up with BNP Paribas for point of sale loans
2011-03-28 17:37:56
Russia's top lender Sberbank may decide this week to team up with France's BNP Paribas to launch point of sales (POS) express loans in September, a source close to Sberbank said on Monday.
Sberbank and BNP Paribas declined to comment.
Sberbank, which holds a 50% retail deposits market share and provides a third of credits to individuals on the Russian market, has been planning a POS launch since 2009 and considered as a partner Home Credit and Finance Bank, a Russian subsidiary of Czech PPF group and a leading POS loan leader, Kommersant quoted a banking source close to the negotiations.
The banks failed to agree on the acquisition price.
BNP Paribas runs its POS business under the Cetelem brand and ranks seventh on the POS market with a 3.7% market share and a 5.7 billion ruble portfolio.
Sberbank offers practically all retail banking products except POS credit, which is one of the most profitable banking sectors.