Russia to block sale of foreign banks’ Russian subsidiaries -Ifax cites finance ministry

Nationwide flag flies above the Russian Central Lender headquarters in Moscow, Russia Could 27, 2022. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov

MOSCOW, July 15 (Reuters) – Russia will block the sale of foreign banks’ Russian subsidiaries even though Russian banking institutions abroad are not able to operate typically, the Interfax information agency cited Deputy Finance Minister Alexei Moiseev as expressing on Friday.

“We mentioned this at our subcommission, that we will not now, right up until the situation increases, give permission for the sale of foreign banks’ subsidiaries and their assets in Russia,” Interfax quoted Moiseev as declaring.

Russia’s central financial institution is resisting domestic calls to just take about the functioning of international lenders’ nearby corporations, two resources with immediate expertise of the matter have explained to Reuters, concerned in element that this could prompt depositors to pull out funds. examine additional

Moiseev did not rule out that the finance ministry could assistance the plan of putting banks’ Russian subsidiaries underneath the command of Russian state banking companies in the future, RIA news agency described.

French lender Societe Generale (SOGN.PA) has sold its Rosbank unit to Interros Funds, a business joined to Russian oligarch Vladimir Potanin, but others, such as Raiffeisen (RBIV.VI), UniCredit (CRDI.MI) and Citi (C.N), the most important a few units of Western banks in Russia, are however checking out possibilities.

Those people 3 held 3.5 trillion roubles ($60.3 billion) in property compared with 38 trillion roubles at leading Russian player Sberbank (SBER.MM) at the conclude of 2021, when international financial institutions accounted for 11% of overall Russian banking capital, the most current data shows.

The West imposed unparalleled sanctions on Russia’s banking sector over Russia’s steps in Ukraine, blocking main banking institutions from the SWIFT world-wide payments technique and limiting their capacity to function with international currencies.

In April, pursuing the imposition of sanctions, VTB in Europe was no for a longer period allowed to take instructions from father or mother financial institution VTB (VTBR.MM), Russia’s No.2 financial institution, and assets had been slash off. browse additional

($1 = 58.0480 roubles)

Reporting by Reuters, Modifying by Louise Heavens

Our Criteria: The Thomson Reuters Rely on Rules.