Leading Russian consumer bank and lender Sberbank will begin issuing American Express Cards to its consumers in 2011.
By early 2011, Sberbank will begin to issue premium and super-premium cards, which will be issued in Russian Roubles, Euros and U.S. Dollars and feature both Sberbank’s logo and American Express’ Blue Box logo on the front of the cards. These cards will provide new, compelling benefits for Russian consumers and will be designed to meet the needs of Sberbank’s customers in its mass-affluent and VIP segments.
The premium card segment is of growing importance in the Russian market. Sberbank holds nearly one third of banking assets in Russia, and operates over 20,00 branches.
As with similar third party issuer arrangements, Sberbank will be responsible for customer service, marketing, and credit risk underwriting for these cards
See full press release:
http://about.americanexpress.com/news/pr/2010/sberbank.aspx