Bank of Russia includes Tinkoff in systematically important lenders list

By Leandra Monteiro

Tinkoff Bank has been added to the Bank of Russia’s list of 13 systemically important lenders. The decision was based on many factors, including Tinkoff’s strong business growth as well as its extensive customer base, the Bank of Russia said in a statement.

As of today, the Bank of Russia considers 13 banking institutions to be systemically important; they account for about 77% of the Russian banking sector’s total assets.

Oliver Hughes, CEO of Tinkoff Group said, “The addition of Tinkoff Bank to the Bank of Russia’s list of systemically important lenders is, without doubt, an indication of Tinkoff’s quality and recognition of its role in the country’s financial system; it’s a result of our business development and of our growing number of customers. Tinkoff complies with all regulatory requirements set by the Bank of Russia for systemically important banking institutions and will continue its strategy to develop its business and expand its customer base.”

“In recent years, we—while always remaining a fintech trendsetter in spirit—have truly become a major high-profile player in the market; we already count over 17 million Russian citizens among our customers. Tinkoff is the third-largest bank in the country in terms of the number of active retail customers, and it’s important for us that a considerable part of the growth of our customer base comes from our customers’ recommendations to their friends and acquaintances, recommendations based on Tinkoff’s services, and the quality and variety of those services.”

“Tinkoff is also the world’s first neobank to be named a systemically important company. This is a fantastic story of success and of the painstaking efforts we have made over the past decade and a half: today, it’s hard to imagine that, at the start, when we were launching Tinkoff 15 years ago, we were ranked 822nd on the list of banks in Russia. Now we are among the 13 largest and most reliable banks in the country.”

“I would like to thank all our customers for recommending Tinkoff to their friends, and, of course, our entire team as well.”