Sberbank, VBT interested in taking over Hypo Bank Croatia?

Of all the potential buyers of Hypo Bank Croatia, those mentioned the most in banking circles for now are banks from Russia, namely Sberbank and its greatest rival - VBT.

Sberbank has entered the European market with the acquisition of Volksbank International, which is considered to be only the beginning of a market expansion in which the takeover of Hypo and its market share of nearly 10 percent would fit perfectly.

In the race for the Croatian banking market, Sberbank's greatest rival is, allegedly, Russia's VTB. However, a problem may be the cooling of relations with Russia, which has recently culminated in cutting off Croatia from the South Stream project.