Russian business news websites Finam.ru and Finanz.ru have reported today that retail forex broker eToro has agreed on a joint venture with Russia’s largest bank Sberbank. The JV will serve customers in Russia, and will be integrated with applications at Sberbank, according to Sberbank Chairman and CEO Herman Gref.
The JV structure is yet to be determined between eToro and Sberbank; however according to Sberbank Deputy Chairman Lev Khasis profits from the JV will be shared 50:50 between the two entities.
The JV will also give existing eToro clients greater access to instruments traded on Russian exchanges.
The planned service will be available to customers of other banks in Russia as well.
The news should not come as a total surprise. eToro raised $27 million from Sberbank and China’s Ping An in late 2014. We reported at the time that this was not a pure financial investment, but rather a strategic one, whereby each of Sberbank and Ping An were going to work with eToro to help eToro enter each of their home markets.