OREANDA-NEWS. February 01, 2011. The VP of Sberbank, Anton Karamzin said he invested a major portion of his free cash in Sberbank shares: “As soon as I save some free cash from bonuses, I invest the majority in Sberbank equities”, he said.

Karamzin added he did not invest in any other companies. “I have no time to manage a larger, more complex security portfolio, and invest only in that investment vehicle that I clearly understand, namely, Sberbank.

I believe its shares have a long-term upside potential”, he said. Karamzin added that the fact that some of Sberbank top-managed had acquired the bank shares at the same time was a mere coincidence. “The board members have no agreements amongst them: everyone comes to their own decisions, and this was purely incidental”, he said. Karamzin recalled that the acquisition of Sberbank shares by its own board members was not somehow related to the stock-option program, as it had not yet been approved.

The VP’s interest in Sberbank has by now advanced from the initial 0.001% to 0.003%. The last increment was by 50%, up from 0.002% to 0.003%. Proceeding from the security market value as of January 27, when this information was disclosed, the package could cost Karamzin RUB 23.39 mn. A 0.003% package of Sberbank common shares may therefore cost RUB 70.18 mn, and RUB 2.18 mn if it consisted of prefs. Last week, two of Sberbank top managers, Andrei Donskikh and Alexander Morozov, upgraded their holdings in Sberbank by 250% each.