Translated material
Gref about forced happiness, the elephant dance and dividends: the main thing from an interview with Kommersant
On Friday, May 25, the annual meeting of Sberbank shareholders will be held, at which the issue of extending the powers of the head of Sberbank German Gref was raised. There is no doubt that the contract, which expires in December this year, will be extended. On the eve of the meeting, Gref gave a long interview to Kommersant, in which he spoke about record dividends and an updated bonus program, about the bank's problems due to sanctions and restrictions on competition, and about the purchase of non-core assets.
About dividends
“Two years ago, we adopted a dividend policy, determining how capital adequacy and the resulting amount of net profit going to dividends will develop. And we agreed that upon reaching the capital adequacy level of 12.5%, we will switch to paying 50% of net profit. If everything goes well, but for now we are going in accordance with the business plan approved by the strategy, then from 2020 we will pay 50%. This year we pay 43.5%, which just corresponds to the required level of capitalization and the achievement of the capital adequacy level of 12.5% next year.”
About the system of fast payments of the Central Bank
“Why would a regulator create an alternative-forced happiness instead of tracking a non-discriminatory partnership is not clear to me. We are negotiating with the Central Bank and hope that a compromise can be found. We will be connected, but on certain conditions that create a sense for the further development of the system. It is primarily about economic conditions and security.”
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About the Thank You Bonus Program
“Thank you” is primarily a loyalty program that encourages customers to a certain behavior pattern. We are just not interested in cashback. There is an opportunity to convert points into money, but not at the rate of 1:1. For 2019 [the loyalty program costs] 25 billion rubles. And these are only the costs of the bank, without taking into account the investments of partners.”
About the trademark "Sber"
“We have registered all the rights to all variations of those names that we can potentially use in the ecosystem. We have already faced the fact that we had to buy out some names (for example, SberKh). Therefore, just in case, we registered the widest possible range of use of the trademark, and then we will see.”
About the promise to teach the elephant to dance
“There is not only an elephant, but also a lot of elephants. How harmoniously he dances, you need to ask our customers.”
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About problems due to sanctions
“International business is not doing well. Prior to being sanctioned, he was earning a billion dollars a year and now he would have earned more, but, unfortunately, what happened happened. We have lost a number of opportunities in these markets, we have come under very serious pressure from regulators, and we cannot attract capital from the market. Therefore, we are now in a deal on Turkey, trying to make a deal in Ukraine. We are going to optimize our presence in Europe, but we cannot announce in which countries.”
About non-core assets on the example of Rambler
“There are a number of very complementary areas for us here. We were looking for opportunities in this market and in a deal with Rambler we got everything in the complex. The first is the Okko online cinema with a very interesting business model. We see how to improve it, make it the first on the market. We already have a big joint business - Foodplex [an online platform for the restaurant market. - The Bell. It is developing quite well, and thanks to the deal, we will increase the share. The main directions [of development] have already been agreed upon, technical audits will now take place, and we will more clearly define for which programs the funds will be used. But first of all, it is content, including the purchase of various rights. For example, already this year we acquired the rights to broadcast matches of the English Premier League football through Okko. The second direction is the creation of a modern technological platform.”
On the ban on buying financial assets by state-owned banks
“This is the worst way to limit state property in the economy. If there is such a desire, it is necessary to limit not companies, but the state. Either don't create companies, or don't deprive them of their market power. Given the fact that there are many state-owned companies, by limiting their development, you limit the development of the economy.”
About commission for acquiring
“State intervention in pricing always ends sadly. In Russia, we came up with a business model that is beneficial to everyone, when banks took on all the costs of acquiring devices, their maintenance and software development. This has brought Russia to the position of world leaders in terms of convenience and volume of non-cash payments. If merchants insist on lowering commissions, we will not be at a loss to maintain the entire acquiring network. We will be forced to return to the previous business model, merchants will have to buy acquiring devices, order software, and be responsible for the service themselves. Then they will have the same acquiring cost as in Europe.”
About buying Ozon
“We considered the possibility [of the purchase] before we bought a stake in Yandex.Market. We don't consider it today."