Sberbank, which entered the Slovenian market with the acquisition of Volksbank International last year, is planing organic growth in central and eastern Europe in the coming two years. Takeovers are not planned for now, but not excluded after the growth period.

The group presently holds a 2.9% market share in Slovenia and his hoping to increase it to 5% or 6% in the coming three to four years, head of the Slovenian subsidiary Gašpar Ogris-Martič said.

The segment of small and medium-sized companies will be given special attention, the plan being to expand the share of this market to around 10% in the coming years.

President of the Slovenia-Russia Business Council Janez Škrabec said Sberbank's presence would improve cooperation between the two countries and further the development of the Slovenian banking sector.

A panel debate, held as part of the conference, also saw Unicredit banka Slovenija chairman Stefan Vavti welcoming Sberbank. He said Slovenia had too many banks, however too few were "healthy".

While Vavti was critical of the political situation in the country, Sberbank's Arnold expressed concern about the economic situation. He hopes the crisis could be a catalyst for change.

Sberbank's presence was hailed by representatives of some Slovenian companies, with Iztok Špan of Tajfun Planina, a producer of forestry machinery, for instance pointing out that the company continues to have problems with securing credit despite having one of the best credit ratings in Slovenia.

Dušan Olaj of Duol, a company building air supported structures and exporting between 30% and 40% of its products to Russia, highlighted the synergy effects, as cooperation with the bank will make things much easier for the company in Russia.