The agency decided to take the step after its parent institution Osterreichische Volksbanken announced that it had come to an agreement with Russia's Sberbank to sell its stake in Volksbank International (VBI), of which Volksbank Slovensko forms part. VBI owns 93 percent of the shares in Volksbank Slovensko, with Osterreichische Volksbanken holding 51 percent of VBI. Sberbank plans to buy out the stakes of all other VBI shareholders in order to gain full control of the group. It is expected that the transaction will take place by the end of this year. The purchase needs to be authorised by the regulatory authorities first, however.