Sberbank announced on May，18，2018,  it has extended more than ₽535 billion in loans to SMEs since the start of 2018.

The bank reported that over the first four months of 2018, lending to SMEs increased by 74.4% vs. the same period in 2017. Sberbank claimed it was the first in Russia to offer online lending to SMEs. More than 25,000 businesspeople have applied for online loans and almost ₽3 billion worth of lending has been provided and 30% of loan applications are sent to the bank outside of business hours. 

Senior Vice President and Head of Sberbank’s Corporate Business Block, Anatoly Popov, spoke at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) and stated that as of early May 2018, Sberbank’s portfolio of SME loans amounted to ₽1.3 trillion. Sberbank then added that it actively participates in the majority of SME support programs carried out by the Russian government agencies – the Ministry of Economic Development, Ministry of Agriculture, and SME Corporation.