OREANDA-NEWS. December 29, 2011. In line with the Memorandum of Understanding entered into force on June 17, 2011, Sberbank, Russia's leading universal bank, and Cetelem, the consumer lending division of the BNP Paribas Group, the leading provider of consumer loans in France and Europe, have signed (the date of signature) a binding agreement for the foundation of a joint Russian POS (Point of Sale) finance bank (hereinafter – the “Partnership”). The Partnership will operate under the Cetelem brand. Sberbank will have a 70% stake in the Partnership, the remaining 30% stake being owned by BNP Paribas Personal Finance France, which owns the Cetelem brand.

Partnership operations are planned to start in the summer of 2012 on the basis of BNP Paribas Vostok, after its full-scale restructuring and transfer of Cetelem business from ZAO BNP Paribas. Meanwhile the Parties will apply for all necessary approvals and will actively continue active preparation activities to ensure a smooth and quick start of the Partnership promptly after closing of the transaction in the summer of 2012.

The Parties believe that the Partnership will meet high season of 2012 fully strengthened by complementary knowledge, experience and inputs of both partners and quickly become one of the market leaders in the POS market.

The Partnership will use the concept of “responsible lending” developed by Cetelem and supported by Sberbank that implies providing simple and transparent client products with reasonable interest rates. The Parties believe that use of this concept will make POS loans more attractive to clients and lead to the transformation of the Russian POS market.