Cetelem Bank is a joint point-of-sale finance bank of Sberbank and BNP Paribas Personal Finance, the consumer lending division of the BNP Paribas Group. The bank is operating in the Russian consumer and car loan market and specializes in point-of-sale lending – retail stores and auto dealers.
The transfer is a part of a large-scale internal reorganization within Sberbank Group. Sberbank will continue issuing car personal loans at its branches and the car loan partnership programs with car manufacturers and car dealers will be transferred from Sberbank to Cetelem Bank. This specialization is part of the bank’s retail strategy and will allow Sberbank Group to upgrade its presence in the car loan market, an important market for Sberbank.
Cetelem Bank is the best vehicle for Sberbank’s ambitious growth plans. It specializes in point-of-sale lending and successfully combines experience in the Russian market with the innovative technologies of BNP Paribas Personal Finance. For its first ten months of operation, the joint bank showed solid results: it more than doubled its POS outstanding and multiplied almost by 4 its personal car loan outstanding. In accordance with the terms of the transaction, Sberbank will increase its stake in Cetelem Bank in 2013 from 70% up to 74% leaving the governance unchanged. After three years, Sberbank has an option to increase its stake in the Cetelem Bank up to 80%.
The switch from Sberbank to Cetelem Bank will be done by the end of this year and executed smoothly in order to respect the partners’ and clients’ interests. The car loan partnership programs transferred to the Cetelem Bank platform will increase Sberbank Group’s share in the car loan market. All partners and clients will receive guaranteed quality services from Cetelem Bank.
Denis Bugrov, Member of the Board, Senior Vice President, Sberbank: “The current market share of Sberbank Group in the car loan market is about 13.9%. We plan that with the transfers of the car loan partnership programs to Cetelem Bank, Sberbank will increase this figure considerably. The transfer will support credit sales, one of the main drivers for the Russian car market. This will make loans more accessible to the public and will increase not only the share of cars sold on credit in Russia, but also the car market”.
Thierry Laborde, CEO of BNP Paribas Personal Finance: “By transferring all Sberbank’s POS car loan activity to Cetelem Bank, the business portfolio of the JV will significantly grow compared to what was initially planned. This strategic project will deliver additional revenue in the next 5 years to BNP Paribas Personal Finance in Russia. This new development is the testimony of BNP Paribas Personal Finance’s know-how in finance on the point of sale and partnership with distributors and shows the satisfaction and trust shared by both shareholders about Cetelem.”
Andrey Lykov, CEO, Cetelem Bank Llc: “Cetelem Bank has clear advantages in the car loan market. We operate on a modern instant credit decision technology in the dealership. Our clients get best in class services including simple and transparent client products and comprehensive consulting as well as a wide range of repayment channels. Our partners can rely on an individualized approach, diverse forms of cooperation in issuing car loans, tailor-made credit solutions and services”.
