Sberbank chief Gref says bank will keep branches as clients shift to digital
Version 2: New details have been added: Vedomosti reports Sberbank applied for and received digital depository status in early October, with first products possible in December 2026, and CNews says the “Digital Solutions” forum was held in Moscow, was run by Mincifry and that Gref also addressed delays in paying fines.
In short
Sberbank president and board chairman German Gref said the bank does not plan to give up its branches while customers gradually move to digital services, and that it will keep improving its offline network. Speaking at the “Digital Solutions” forum in Moscow, he said services should not be forced on clients and cited the earlier cancellation of passbooks as a mistake that drew a negative reaction. Vedomosti also reported that Sberbank filed for and received digital depository status in early October, with first products possible in December 2026.
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Sberbank does not intend to give up its branches even as customers increasingly use digital services, the bank's president and board chairman, German Gref, said at the “Digital Solutions” forum. Interfax quoted Gref as saying the bank must follow the client and offer services convenient enough that the client wants to move to them. If the client is not ready, he said, the bank must maintain its offline infrastructure while improving it. [ 1 , 6 ]
Gref said the bank's branches are undergoing major changes and that the offline format will be improved so customers can get the most out of it. RBC reported that Sber would keep improving its branches for clients not ready for digital services, and that Gref said an abrupt withdrawal of offline infrastructure could provoke a negative customer reaction. He said there is a clear trend of people gradually moving to digital services, a point RIA Novosti highlighted. [ 1 , 2 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]
Gref said imposing services on clients causes rejection. “In relations with clients we try to be guided by exactly this logic: to create services that would be close to a person's heart, and then he will come there himself. Until he comes, we will be offline and will improve this offline,” he said, according to Interfax. TASS reported Gref saying that imposing digital services on clients is inadmissible and that services should be convenient enough for clients to adopt them themselves. [ 1 , 3 , 5 ]
Gref also referred to past mistakes. He said the bank had assumed digital services were so convenient that it should stop issuing passbooks and did so, but the negative reaction from clients served as a preventive lesson, and that for more than 10 years the bank has not made such sharp and radical moves. CNews also reported that Gref said the bank is working on the issue of delays in paying fines, without further detail. [ 1 , 5 ]
Separately, Vedomosti reported that on 5 October Sberbank sent the Central Bank an application for digital depository status and received it the next day, with the first products in the new area possibly launching in December 2026. According to Vedomosti, the status gives a legal right to record and transfer rights to digital currencies and digital rights including digital financial assets, to provide access to identifier addresses where such assets are held, and to open digital accounts and execute client instructions on operations with them. [ 6 ]
Why it matters
The statements set the near-term direction for Russia's largest bank, indicating it will keep funding an offline branch network even as digital use grows, rather than phasing it out. Vedomosti's report that Sberbank obtained digital depository status points to an expansion into digital assets and digital rights custody, an area where the documents give no further detail. No figures on the branch network or the pace of the digital shift appear in the documents.
Key facts
- Sberbank is not planning to abandon its branches, its president and board chairman German Gref said. [ 1 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]
- Gref said there is a trend of people gradually moving to digital services. [ 1 , 2 , 5 , 6 ]
- Gref said services and digital offerings should not be forced on clients because coercion causes rejection. [ 1 , 3 , 5 ]
- Gref said Sberbank previously cancelled passbook issuance, received a negative reaction from clients, and has not made such radical moves for more than 10 years. [ 1 , 5 ]
- Gref said the bank's branches are undergoing major changes and the offline format will be improved. [ 1 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]
- Gref made the comments at the “Digital Solutions” forum; CNews said it was held in Moscow on 7 October 2026. [ 1 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]
- On 5 October Sberbank applied to the Central Bank for digital depository status and received it the next day, with first products possibly launching in December 2026, Vedomosti reported. [ 6 ]
- CNews reported Gref also said the bank is working on the issue of delays in paying fines. [ 5 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- Sberbank will keep its branches while customers move to digital services, and will continue to improve them. [ 1 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]
- Gref said services and digital offerings should not be forced on clients, since coercion causes a negative reaction. [ 1 , 3 , 5 ]
- Gref pointed to a trend of the population gradually switching to digital services. [ 1 , 2 , 5 , 6 ]
- Gref made the remarks at the “Digital Solutions” forum. [ 1 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]
Still unclear
- Whether Sberbank plans any reduction in the number or size of its branch network. The documents say only that the bank is not abandoning branches and is improving them; no plans to cut the network are stated or denied.
- Scale of the shift to digital services and the share of customers using them. The trend is described qualitatively, with no figures given in any document.
- Details of the digital depository products Sberbank expects to launch in December 2026. Mentioned only by Vedomosti, with no product specifics or confirmation from the bank or regulator.
- Whether the “Digital Solutions” forum was organised by the Ministry of Digital Development. Only CNews describes it as a Mincifry forum; the other documents give the name without an organiser.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- Interfax publishes Gref's remarks from the “Digital Solutions” forum, including that Sberbank will not abandon branches. [ 1 ]
- RIA Novosti reports Gref's statement about a trend of Russians moving to digital services. [ 2 ]
- TASS reports Gref saying digital services must not be forced on clients. [ 3 ]
- RBC reports that Sber will keep branches for clients not ready for digital services and will continue improving them. [ 4 ]
- CNews publishes its account of Gref's remarks at the Mincifry forum in Moscow, including the bank's work on delays in paying fines. [ 5 ]
- Vedomosti reports Gref's remarks and adds that Sberbank applied for and received digital depository status in early October. [ 6 ]