Aircraft
Russia’s Sberbank Enters Aircraft Leasing with Boeing Order
Boeing International president Shephard Hill, left, and Sberbank CEO Herman Gref sign an order for 12 Boeing 737-800s in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Bill Carey)
Boeing International president Shephard Hill, left, and Sberbank CEO Herman Gref sign an order for 12 Boeing 737-800s in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Bill Carey)

Sberbank, Russia’s largest bank, took what executives describe as an historic first step into aircraft leasing last week as it ordered 12 Boeing 737-800s. Expected to spur further financing and leasing of imported aircraft in Russia, the transaction calls for the bank’s Sberbank Leasing subsidiary to place the airplanes with Moscow-based Transaero Airlines.