Major scope for India-Russia CBDC trade settlements, says Russia’s Sberbank

Sberbank, Russia's largest bank, announced on Friday its intention to explore significant opportunities for bilateral trade settlement between India and Russia through central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). CEO German Gref emphasized the efficiency of trade settlement in CBDCs during a media briefing. The bank has been utilizing surplus rupees to support liquidity and invest in Indian government securities.

Gref mentioned that last year, they faced an issue with surplus rupees, but that problem has been resolved this year. Currently, Sberbank operates in India through a branch model with offices in New Delhi and Mumbai. By 2028, the bank plans to establish a business hub in New Delhi and is developing a bilateral IT platform to connect Indian and Russian companies.

The primary goal is to narrow the trade imbalance, estimated at around $50 billion. Sberbank has applied for 10 branch licenses from the Reserve Bank of India to open across 10 cities, pending approval from local regulators. Gref stated there are no immediate plans to convert the bank into a wholly owned subsidiary. The bank has also acquired two Summit Towers business centers in New Delhi, expected to be ready by 2028, to strengthen their long-term partnership in the country.

Sberbank is actively promoting investments in sectors like Nifty 50 stocks, high tech, education, and healthcare, and is interested in partnerships for large-scale infrastructure projects in India. Both India and Russia aim to achieve $100 billion in bilateral trade and $50 billion in two-way investment by 2030, with current bilateral trade standing at $60 billion.