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

Nationwide flag flies more than the Russian Central Financial institution headquarters in Moscow, Russia May 27, 2022. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov

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

“We talked about this at our subcommission, that we will not now, until finally the problem increases, give permission for the sale of overseas banks’ subsidiaries and their belongings in Russia,” Interfax quoted Moiseev as expressing.

Russia’s central lender is resisting domestic calls to acquire around the managing of foreign lenders’ community organizations, two sources with direct understanding of the matter have advised Reuters, anxious in part that this could prompt depositors to pull out cash. browse far more

Moiseev did not rule out that the finance ministry could assist the strategy of inserting banks’ Russian subsidiaries beneath the handle of Russian state banks in the long term, RIA news company described.

French lender Societe Generale (SOGN.PA) has marketed its Rosbank device to Interros Cash, a firm connected to Russian oligarch Vladimir Potanin, but other people, which include Raiffeisen (RBIV.VI), UniCredit (CRDI.MI) and Citi (C.N), the most significant 3 units of Western banking companies in Russia, are still checking out solutions.

Those people a few held 3.5 trillion roubles ($60.3 billion) in belongings compared with 38 trillion roubles at major Russian participant Sberbank (SBER.MM) at the finish of 2021, when overseas banking institutions accounted for 11% of complete Russian banking money, the hottest details exhibits.

The West imposed unprecedented sanctions on Russia’s banking sector around Russia’s steps in Ukraine, blocking major financial institutions from the SWIFT international payments program and restricting their skill to run with international currencies.

In April, adhering to the imposition of sanctions, VTB in Europe was no for a longer time permitted to acquire recommendations from guardian financial institution VTB (VTBR.MM), Russia’s No.2 lender, and belongings have been minimize off. browse additional

($1 = 58.0480 roubles)

Reporting by Reuters, Modifying by Louise Heavens

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