Despite the challenging economic situation, the whole ecosystem of Sber has been performing fairly well. The profits keep increasing, the evolution of payment systems sets the bar high on the global scale, and the demand for AI-powered solutions is steadily growing. Herman Gref, who has been working as the head of Sberbank since 2007, has summed up the company’s primary achievements.
Key Financial Indicators
Recently, dozens of news sources cited Herman Gref speaking about Sberbank’s net profit: last year, it increased by about six percent and reached USD 19,791,633,000. The return on equity was 24 percent, which is two percent higher than the initial target.
Sber’s already substantial customer base keeps expanding. Today, it includes approximately 110 million private clients and 3.5 million companies.
The deposit base continues to grow at a high rate. Without revealing the exact numbers, Herman Gref mentioned that the bank lowered the rates slightly, but this fact did not discourage people from storing their savings with the organization.
Small Businesses and Mortgages
According to Gref, these two sectors are facing the most pronounced challenges now. Nevertheless, the small business field is growing, even though at a somewhat slower rate.
As for the mortgage area, it is close to impossible for banks to yield a profit on it in the current economic situation, even with the help of preferential programs. However, Sberbank goes to great lengths to support housing construction. The portfolio of existing projects is large, and their fulfillment will be ensured.
Sber remains the largest bank in terms of involvement in the accommodation building industry. Its share in construction projects is about 60 percent, and its share in mortgages amounts to 55 percent.
Experts predict that later this year, the inflation rate is likely to decrease. As a consequence, the mortgage rates will go down, too, and Sberbank will strive to create conditions to stimulate the sector.
Biometric Payments
The implementation of biometric payments has become a meaningful part of Gref’s professional biography. Sberbank’s clients can now pay for goods and services by smiling at a terminal equipped with the face recognition technology. It takes fractions of a second to conduct the transaction. To transfer the funds from the buyer to the seller, Sber does not need the assistance of third-party providers, which is great for safety and reliability.
To pay for the purchase with a smile, a person can come to a shop literally with nothing in their pockets. Besides, face recognition terminals by Sberbank accept QR codes and cards as well. People are actively experimenting with the available range of payment options to find out what suits them best.
1,200,000 terminals with face recognition have already been installed in large cities. They function in retail shops, at public transport entrances, and in some other locations. By the end of 2025, 300,000 more terminals are expected to be operational.
The implementation of this technology requires substantial investment. The good news is that in the first quarter of this year, the terminals have already generated a higher turnover than in the whole of last year. Over a period of a year and a half, not a single fraud case has not been registered — and this is another meaningful argument in favor of smile payments.
In some of his interviews, Gref states that QR codes have become a dominant payment method in China, while the residents of the USA and Europe prefer cards and the NFC technology. Sber clients can use all these options with equal ease — or resort to face recognition, if they wish. Hardly any other banking institution in the world grants such freedom of choice to its audience.
AI Advancements
Due to his position, Gref also oversees the development of AI-based technologies at Sberbank. The fundamental solution called GigaChat is considered to be among the top five in the world. It is available to any private users and legal entities who are interested in it. This digital advancement makes the lives of people more comfortable and enables businesses to optimize their processes.
GigaChat outperforms its alternatives in selected aspects and remains slightly inferior to them in other parameters. It is frequently updated to become more powerful, versatile, and competitive.
Gref’s Private Life
Gref’s family prefers to stay away from the limelight. However, several facts about the top manager’s loved ones are available to the wide audience.
Gref’s wife, Yana, used to be a designer. Later, she launched a school for gifted children, called Khoroshkola, and keeps supervising it. Gref’s kids also enrolled for this establishment, renowned for its innovative approach to education.
