UrBC, Yekaterinburg, February 13, 2020. The Russian Government intends to consider the draft bill on Sberbank share buyout on Thursday, February 13; the draft bill has been proposed by the Finance Ministry and the Central Bank.

According to RIA Novosti, the Russian Government is planning to but the majority interest in Sberbank at market value using the National Wealth Fund’s money. Under the terms of the draft bill, the minority shareholders will have a one-time opportunity to buy the shares at the same price as what the Cabinet will be paying for their shareholding.

‘The draft bill will get considered by the government on Thursday,’ the Finance Ministry’s press service says.

Now Russia’s Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said earlier that the idea of using the National Wealth Fund’s money to buy out Sberbank’s shares was being considered.
‘It’s true the proposal has been put forward, but how we will go about it is something that needs to be talked over with Sberbank,’ Siluanov said.

The Bank of Russia currently holds a majority interest in Sberbank (52.32% of ordinary shares) and has a 50% plus one share in the bank’s authorized capital.

Earlier on, Reuters referred to its sources as stating that the Russian Government was going to use the National Wealth Fund’s money to buy Sberbank’s shares. Most of the funds were meant to go back to the state budget.