Tatarstan and Sberbank cooperate in the field of Islamic finance and non-cash payments

On July 14 in Innopolis was signed an agreement on cooperation in the field of Islamic finance. Document was signed by the Acting President of the Republic of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov and Chairman of the Board of Sberbank German Gref. The agreement provides for cooperation between the parties on the study and formation of proposals for the development of Islamic finance in the region.

Tatarstan consistently introducts the Islamic finance and banking, Kazan annually hosts the International Economic Summit of Russia and countries of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) KazanSummit 2015 - a platform for economic and investment cooperation between Russia and the Muslim world. The central authority in charge from the government of Tatarstan, which is organizing the summit, is Tatarstan Investment Development Agency.

"We are making the first steps in the use of the Islamic banking. Not only Islamic, but also many European countries use these mechanisms. Taking into account the fact that there are some difficulties in foreign financial markets, it is a good tool. Together, we - our republic, which has good contacts with the Islamic world, and Sberbank as a powerful banking structure - could do a lot to the whole country", - noted Rustam Minnikhanov.

In turn, the Head of Sberbank German Gref said: "Sberbank appreciates the perspective of development of the Islamic finance sector. Cooperation in this area will contribute to the socio-economic development of the Republic of Tatarstan".

In addition, was signed an agreement "Cashless Tatarstan".

"The agreements signed with Sberbank, which is represented in many countries and uses modern technology, aimed at the development of a very important tool for investing activities in Tatarstan. The introduction of individual elements of Islamic finance will expand the capacity of the country and the republic on access to financial markets, which is very important for investors. "Cashless Tatarstan" will make one more step forward in the development of non-cash payments, in particular, provides for implementation of the project of "Map of he republic’s resident",  the concept of "City without cash" in the cities of the republic, the creation of infrastructure projects of non-cash payments in trade and service enterprises", - said TIDA Chief Executive Taliya Minullina.

For reference

The share of Sberbank's total assets account for 29.4% of total banking assets in Russia. The Bank is the main creditor of the Russian economy and has the largest market share in deposits. It accounts for 46.4% of household deposits, 34.7% of retail loans and 33.9% of loans to legal entities.