A representative of the US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control is demanding that Raiffeisen Bank International leave the russian market. Politico writes, citing new data after a meeting between Assistant Secretary of the Treasury Anna Morris and Austrian officials and representatives of Raiffeisen Bank International, UNN reports.
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A representative of the ministry explained to the Austrians that the bank risks being cut off from the US financial systemif it does not more clearly distance itself from the russian economy, which is at war. At the end of last year, the Office of Financial Assets Control was granted the authority to impose sanctions on foreign financial institutions that conduct transactions or provide any services related to the russian military-industrial base.
Exclusion from the dollar system would be a disaster for Raiffeisen and a serious embarrassment for European authorities, as it would mean that they either cannot or will not follow through on their rhetoric of punishing Russia for the largest land grab in Europe in the last 80 years.
Reuters: Україна відмовляється виключати Raiffeisen Bank зі списку спонсорів війни15.02.24, 12:21
Raiffeisen says it has scaled back its operations in russia after the country launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In particular, it has stopped lending, halved its loan portfolio, and stopped correspondent banking operations, sharply narrowing the number of people with whom it does business there. The bank's fee and commission income from its operations in Russia fell by 43 percent last year.
However, Raiffeisen is unwilling to completely cut ties with russia, as it generates up to 60 percent of its profits there (although these profits remain blocked in russia due to capital controls). With the prospect of a quick end to the war gone, suspicions have grown that the bank is stalling for time, hoping to revive the business after peace is established.
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Raiffeisen insists that it is doing everything possible to get out of this situation, but its exit strategy has many pitfalls. The bank intends to effectively swap its stake in the Russian unit for a 27.8% stake in Strabag SE, an Austrian construction group based in Austria and operating in Central and Eastern Europe. The exact mechanics of the swap are not yet clear, but it is assumed that Raiffeisen's russian unit will transfer this stake to the Austrian parent company in the form of an in-kind dividend.
Raiffeisen планує продати банк у рф або його відокремити30.03.23, 14:00 • [views_354600]
Raiffeisen estimates that if the deal goes through as planned, it will be able to save about 1.5 billion euros from its russian operations. Conversely, in the event of a hasty sale to please the Treasury, it could lose everything.
The problem is that Strabag's stake until recently belonged to metallurgical magnate Oleg Deripaska, who is under US and EU sanctions. The deal is being delayed due to difficulties with the change of ownership.