ECB pressures Austria’s Raiffeisen bank to exit Russia – sources | – #ECB #pressures #Austrias #Raiffeisen #bank #exit #Russia #sources
VIENNA, March 23 (Reuters) – Europe Central Bank of Austria Raiffeisen Bank International ( RBIV.VI ) is pressuring the bank to open up its high-profit business in Russia, five people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
Pressure USAIt comes after a senior U.S. sanctions official raised concerns about Raiffeisen’s business in Russia during a visit to Vienna last month, another person familiar with the matter said on condition of anonymity because of its sensitivity.
Washington and the ECB push Austria and its Russia is raising the stakes for its second-largest bank, which plays a key role in its economy but is also increasingly at odds with Moscow’s year-long war in Ukraine. Many Western companies, including the French bank Societe Generale, have already left Russia.
The ECB does not want Raiffeisen to leave the country immediately, but wants an action plan to offload the business, the two people said. One person has such a plan Russia said it could include the sale or closure of its bank.
“We are asking banks to closely monitor business in Russia and ideally reduce it and stop it as much as possible,” an ECB spokesman said, adding that it had done the same with all relevant institutions since Moscow. He began to invade Ukraine.
However, Raiffeisen does not yet intend to present such a plan, the people said, and some Austrian government officials see the move as unwarranted foreign interference.
Raiffeisen spokesperson, Russia said it was exploring options for its business “including a carefully managed exit” and was “accelerating” valuation, adding that it had also reduced lending in the country.
The Austrian lender is now the most important Western bank in Russia, a lifeline for payments offer and accounts for about a quarter of euro transfers into the country, although other banks such as Italy’s UniCredit still exist.
ECB authorities, one week global bank After the crisis, one person said, they did not want to pressure Raiffeisen into an immediate sale, fearing the financial blow it would cause.
The spokesman of the Austrian finance ministry said that although it is impossible to return to the status quo in relations with Russia, “most” international companies, including banks, have remained there.
“Between Russia and the rest of the world, grain, fertilizers, oil, gassuch as nickel and other metals … there is significant trade in commodities that require payment,” the spokesman said.
HIGH AREAS
January month USAThe sanctioning body of Raiffeisen launched an investigation for its business related to Russia.
Two people with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters that the investigation was related to a potential violation of Western sanctions. Raiffeisen said that the survey is of a general nature.
The investigation, which has strained relations between Vienna and Washington, could be dangerous for Austria, which has modeled itself as a bridge between East and West, turning Vienna into a magnet for Russian money.
USA James O’Brien, the State Department’s top sanctions official, voiced American concerns about Raiffeisen and its business with Russia during discussions in Vienna in February.
The spokesperson of the State Department answered the question about the visit and said: “Ambassador O’Brien and the Austrians discussed our close cooperation on sanctions in response to Russia’s next illegal intervention in Ukraine.
A Raiffeisen spokeswoman said the bank was “in the early stages” of gathering information to respond to a letter of inquiry from the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
During the visit of Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen to Kyiv last month Ukraine President Vladimir Zelensky He criticized Austrian businesses still operating in Russia and criticized Raiffeisen for supporting Moscow.
Bank Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine credit was also severely criticized by investors after participating in the scheme of giving vacations for payment.
Although the stakes are high, some Austrian officials say the war talks with Russia would allow normal business to resume, according to three people familiar with the matter. way they hope to be able to hold out long enough for a solution.
Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg said that although the approach of the US authorities to Raiffeisen is “legitimate”, the main responsibility for the imposition of sanctions rests with Austria.
US authorities, a bank dollars could go so far as to prevent it from processing its transactions, a move that would deal a major blow to Raiffeisen and which eurozone regulators fear could destabilize the bank.
ABLV Bank of Latvia 2018After being hit with US sanctions in 2010, it was quickly reopened due in large part to concerns about illegal activity linked to Russia.
Some Austrian lawmakers also criticize the government’s position.
Stephanie Crisper, a member of parliament from the liberal Neos opposition party, told Reuters last week that “supervisors should investigate the risks from Raiffeisen’s activities and from the first day of the war.”
“We have had relations with Moscow for many years political penetrated our system – now from Russia, economic and political dependence has finally begun to appear.”
Added by Francesco Canepa in Frankfurt report; Written by John O’Donnell; Edited by Elisa Martinuzzi, Kirsten Donovan
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2023-03-23 23:17:04
Source – reuters
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