Sber plans Bitcoin, Ether and USDT-backed loans

Sber plans to expand its crypto-backed lending to accept Ether and USDT as collateral alongside Bitcoin. Deputy Chairman Anatoly Popov said the bank will adapt its existing products and gradually expand its offerings. Sber plans to add the assets after the Bank of Russia permits them for public trading. Russia's new crypto law was signed by President Vladimir Putin on Aug. 4. Core provisions of the law take effect Sept. 1. The law gives the Bank of Russia authority to determine which crypto assets can trade on regulated exchanges. The central bank proposed Bitcoin, Ether and USDT for regulated exchange trading on Aug. 11. The central bank said the assets met requirements including market capitalization, trading volume and at least five years of price history on overseas markets. Sber has taken a more cautious view of Russia's digital ruble before its wider rollout on Sept. 1. Sber CFO Taras Skvortsov reportedly said the bank sees little evidence of broad demand for the CBDC. Skvortsov said he saw no clear interest in the instrument apart from the central bank's. He said retail clients, corporate clients and financial institutions were not actively pushing for the CBDC.