Goodbye Volksbank, Hello Sberbank In Hungary
- 4 Nov 2013 8:00 AM
Volksbank will be renamed Sberbank in Hungary as well. The reason for the change is that the Russian Sberbank acquired 100% of the former VBI (Volksbank International AG) and VB Hungary’s rebranding was scheduled for this year. “Volksbank Hungary will function as Sberbank Hungary from November 1”, reported the bank on its website. The bank also provided an explanation on the renamed and replaced credit cards (Sberbank cards) that will be sent out to clients by post starting from November 1.
The Vienna-based banking group (VBI) signed the sale agreement and allowed the name change to Sberbank Europe AG in February last year.
VBI consists of nine universal banks in eight Central and Eastern European countries.
The final purchase price of VBI was €505 million instead of the original €585 million due to the bank’s third-quarter 2011 losses.
At last year’s Budapest press conference, Sberbank strategic director Valentin Mihov said that the VBI transaction represents Sberbank’s first major acquisition outside the CIS countries and is part of the bank’s global expansion strategy.
During the conference, Mihov also promised to strengthen the bank’s retail activities and to achieve a 5% market share in Hungary within a short time.
Source: ORIGO
By Tímea Klincsek for XpatLoop.com
Proofread by Írj Jól Szolgáltató Kft
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