VTB is investing in the fintech assets of the combined company Wildberries&Russ (RWB) and acquiring a 5% stake in "VB Bank". According to RBC, the deal gives Russia's second-largest bank access to the marketplace's client base, while the platform itself gains infrastructure for complex banking products. VTB will raise part of the funds for the partnership through an additional issue of 300-400 billion rubles, a decision on which shareholders will consider on June 30.
The scale of the parties highlights the difference in reach: Wildberries services are used by about 80 million people compared to 31 million retail customers of VTB itself. Analysts interviewed by RBC expect the bank to start offering lending, acquiring, and transfers to marketplace sellers. "VB Bank" already earns tens of billions in commissions – net profit for the first quarter of 2026 reached 34.6 billion rubles.
In the future, the alliance could develop into a full-fledged ecosystem. Natalia Milchakova, a leading analyst at Freedom Global, suggested that in a few years, the partners could become a major player in the IT sector. The global trend pushes towards such a scenario: Latin American Mercado Libre already receives more than 40% of its revenue from fintech, and Kazakhstani Kaspi has combined a bank and a marketplace into a single platform.