Sberbank Rossii PAO : joins SWIFT’s KYC Registry

Moscow, 13 January 2016 - Sberbank announces that it has joined SWIFT's Know Your Customer (KYC) Registry, a centralised repository that maintains a standardised set of information about correspondent banks required for KYC compliance (Know Your Customer).

Larisa Zalomikhina, Global Head of Compliance at Sberbank, says: 'The KYC Registry will help us increase transparency and optimise client identification process by providing access to restricted information such as beneficiary and shareholder details. We expect the remaining Sberbank entities to join the twelve entities that are already registered in the system.'

Natalia Dirks, Head of Operations at Sberbank and SWIFT Member Group Chairperson, adds: 'In addition to providing a single, secure platform for exchanging KYC data with our cross-border correspondents, we believe The KYC Registry can serve as a domestic standard for Russian financial institutions know-your-customer purposes. As such, the Rosswift Steering Committee supports the Registry's implementation by all Russian SWIFT users.'

Banks contribute an agreed 'baseline' set of data and documentation for validation by SWIFT, which can then share with counterparties. Each bank retains ownership of its own information, as well as control over which other institutions can view it. Banks are not charged for data storage or for using the Registry to share their KYC information with other market participants.

Matthieu de Heering, head of Russia, CIS and Mongolia at SWIFT, adds: 'In a landscape where partnership approaches are gaining momentum, SWIFT is pleased to help Sberbank address the increasing financial crime compliance requirements. Adding Sberbank to the growing list of KYC Registry users highlights the great progress the Registry is making across Eastern Europe, particularly in markets, such as Russia, in all CIS countries, and Mongolia, with over 140 entities on board.'

Today, almost 2,000 financial institutions in 187 countries are using The KYC Registry for identification procedures, given the growing number of correspondent relationships worldwide. The KYC Registry is operated by SWIFT and was developed in collaboration with major global banks around the world, providing a simple, secure way to exchange a standardised set of information for correspondent banking Know Your Customer compliance, increasing efficiency and reducing risk.

For more information about The KYC Registry, visithttp://www.betterkyc.com/

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Sberbank
Alexander Baziyan
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Sberbank is Russia's largest bank and a leading global financial institution. Sberbank holds almost one third of aggregate Russian banking sector assets, it is the key lender to the national economy and the biggest deposit taker in Russia. The Central Bank of the Russian Federation is the founder and principal shareholder of Sberbank owning 50% of the Bank's authorized capital plus one voting share, with the remaining 50% held by domestic and international investors. Sberbank has more than 135 million individual customers and more than 1 million corporate clients in 22 countries. Sberbank has the largest distribution network in Russia with almost 17,000 branches, and its international operations include UK, US, CIS, Central and Eastern Europe, Turkey and other countries.

The Bank holds the general banking license No.1481 issued by the Bank of Russia. Official websites of the Bank: www.sberbank.com (Sberbank Group website), www.sberbank.ru.