Gref informed Putin about the zero level of fraud when paying through biometrics

When issuing mortgage loans, banks should not complicate the situation by introducing "little-known elements for citizens" associated with additional expenses. This was stated by Vladimir Putin on July 29 at a meeting with Chairman of the Board of Sberbank German Gref. The head of the bank, in turn, stressed that mortgages today have become unprofitable or their profitability is negative. At the same time, lenders are ready to issue it with zero profitability, because they are interested in maintaining the pace of housing construction. According to Gref's forecasts, inflation is likely to fall, and the rate will decrease.

What was discussed at the meeting

Vladimir Putin praised the pace of development of the Savings Bank. According to him, such dynamics guarantees the stability of the entire Russian banking system. The President stressed that German Gref and his team had noticed the main promising areas for development in time. For example, the Russian Federation has managed to keep up with competitors in the development of artificial intelligence technologies and continue to move ahead, the president said.

The head of the bank noted that the artificial intelligence race continues — new AI models appear every few months. At the same time, Sberbank can already present its competitive products, which many customers are starting to use. Since April 1, the bank has made widely available a new fundamental model in the field of artificial intelligence — GigaChat, which is among the top five in the world by all parameters.

Due to the sanctions, Russians lost their previous contactless payment methods: in particular, the Apple Pay service, which allows them to pay by touching the phone to the terminal, stopped working, German Gref recalled. Sber has found a way out: now you can "pay by face" — it's simple, fast and safe, he said. Currently, 1.2 million such terminals have been installed in almost all of Russia. "It takes fractions of a second to pay. There is not a single technology where there is zero fraud. Fraudsters have learned how to work with the card, and so on, and so on. Here we have zero scams in a year and a half," Gref shared.

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He also said that due to strict regulation and high interest rates, the mortgage lending situation is of concern to banks. Mortgages for them today have become either unprofitable or their profitability is negative. The bank is trying to create conditions to stimulate mortgage growth. The share of Sberbank in the housing lending market is 55%, and the share of financing construction projects is about 60%. At the same time, banks are ready to issue mortgages with zero profitability, because they are interested in ensuring that housing construction does not fall, Gref said.

According to his forecasts, inflation is likely to fall, which means that the rate should decrease. "The main thing is that the banks themselves, when issuing mortgages, would not aggravate the situation, would not introduce additional little—known elements for citizens associated with additional expenses," the president concluded.