Austrias Raiffeisen Bank is hoping the war in Ukraine will end soon to avoid a costly exit from Russia, Reuters reported Thursday, citing multiple sources familiar with the matter. <\/p>\n
The news outlet said Austrian officials are resisting pressure from the European Central Bank (ECB) for Raiffeisen to spin off its Russian subsidiary by September. <\/p>\n
Vienna privately thinks restoring long-standing relations with Russia while publicly supporting Kyiv during Moscows 16-month invasion will still be possible. <\/p>\n
According to Reuters, Raiffeisen is delaying the spinoff by waiting for the ECB, its shareholders, and the Russian government to approve the move. <\/p>\n
Austrian officials have also complained that Raiffeisen is being unfairly singled out, Reuters reported, citing a finance ministry spokesperson who said other European banks remain active in Russia. <\/p>\n
A bank cannot leave a country like that overnight, the spokesperson was quoted as saying. <\/p>\n
Austrian officials have recently urged the ECBs president and a top U.S. Treasury sanctions official not to pressure Raiffeisen, Reuters said. <\/p>\n
Raiffeisen has submitted data on Russian transactions to the U.S. Treasury Departments Office of Foreign Assets Control for a review of any sanctions breaches, three sources were cited as saying. <\/p>\n
Moscow has reportedly signaled it wants Raiffeisen to stay because it is among the few remaining Western lenders that enable international payments. <\/p>\n
Raiffeisen, with up to 4 billion euros ($4.5 billion) of capital in Russia, has around 4 million Russian account holders, 2,600 corporate customers and 10,000 employees. <\/p>\n
In June, Raiffeisens Russian subsidiary imposed a 50% commission fee on incoming U.S. dollar transfers and suspended euro transfers to non-Raiffeisen banks in Russia and several other countries. <\/p>\n
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Raiffeisen Bank Hopes War Ends 'Soon' to Avoid Costly Russia Exit Reuters - The Moscow Times<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Austrias Raiffeisen Bank is hoping the war in Ukraine will end soon to avoid a costly exit from Russia, Reuters reported Thursday, citing multiple sources familiar with the matter. Continue reading