Sberbank to buy Telenor Bank?

Sberbank Serbia intends to buy Telenor Bank, and the negotiations about the price and the terms of the transaction are being completed and it will soon be known whether the deal will be closed or not, Blic learns.

The first online and mobile bank in the Balkans, owned by the Norwegian Telenor Group, might thereby become the ownership of the Russian bank, which has become an important factor in the Serbian financial market in the past years.

The source of Blic from Sberbank claims that the final agreement has not yet been reached as the green light from the centrals in Moscow and Oslo, which are assessing the value of this transaction, is still being waited for.

– Sberbank cares very much about this purchase, as the Russian would thereby become leaders in online mobile banking in Serbia and the Balkans, since Telenor Bank has opened 300,000 current accounts in under three years of its activities. This number best illustrates the need of the citizens of Serbia for all-encompassing mobile and online banking services, which is why the Russians are striving for the purchase to be completed. On the other hand, the Telenor Group, which owns Telenor Bank, also believes that this is a good opportunity for them to profit from their leadership in online banking, especially since it is not their core activity – explains the Blic source.

Sberbank neither wished to confirm nor deny Blic's findings.

– We thank you for the question you've sent to us, but the topic you're reporting about is not something we can comment on now – the bank said, as reported by Blic.

Telenor, on the other hand, has given no comment.

Telenor Bank opened in September 2014, quickly becoming the fastest growing online bank in the region, Blic writes.

Yettel Bank ad Beograd

Naša AIK Banka a.d. Beograd

Telenor Norway

online bank

mobile bank

sale of Telenor Bank

online mobile banking

online banking

Sberbank