The document was signed by Jahangir Hajiyev, Chairman of the Board of IBA and Herman Gref, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Sberbank of Russia.

The areas of cooperation specified in the memorandum include participation of the parties in the co-financing of investment projects; the organization of trade financing in the Republic of Azerbaijan and Russia, as well as in third countries, where subsidiaries and branches of the parties are located, and; cooperation in the financial markets.

The International Bank of Azerbaijan (IBA) is the largest bank in Azerbaijan and the region, with assets of nearly $12 billion. It serves as a national development bank supporting the stability of Azerbaijan's banking system, the socio-economic development of the country and its integration into the global economy and is 50.2 percent state owned.

IBA is a universal bank with a national franchise, subsidiary banks in Russia and Georgia and international representative offices in London, Frankfurt, Luxembourg, Dubai and New York. 

Sberbank of Russia is Russia's largest bank and a leading global financial institution. Sberbank holds almost one third of aggregate Russian banking sector assets and is the key lender to the national economy and the biggest deposit taker in Russia. 

The Central Bank of the Russian Federation is the founder and principal shareholder of Sberbank, owning 50% of the Bank's authorized capital plus one voting share, with the remaining 50% held by domestic and international investors. Sberbank has more than 110 million individual customers and 1 million corporate clients in 22 countries. Sberbank has the largest distribution network in Russia with more than 17,000 branches, and its international operations include UK, US, CIS, Central and Eastern Europe, Turkey and other countries.