MOSCOW (Reuters) – The Russian subsidiary of Austria’s Raiffeisen Bank International said on Monday it had temporarily suspended the opening of new brokerage accounts as European regulators demanded the group reduce its exposure to Russia.
The European Central Bank has asked eurozone banks still operating in Russia to cut their ties. The ECB banking supervision authority has asked all banks with significant exposure to Russia to accelerate their risk reduction efforts by presenting a clear plan for reducing and withdrawing from the Russian market.
“Due to the ECB’s instruction to the RBI Group, Raiffeisen Bank is forced to reduce its business volume on the Russian market,” Raiffeisen Bank in Russia said.
“At this time, we have decided to temporarily suspend the opening of new brokerage accounts for retail investors starting July 26, 2024.”
The bank said that existing accounts would be serviced as usual.
The RBI announced in April that the ECB was asking it to further reduce its business in Russia by curbing lending to customers and international payments from Russia until 2026.
Since Moscow sent troops to Ukraine in 2022, eurozone banks have more than halved their exposure to Russia. Raiffeisen has come under particular criticism as its Russia profits have soared. Washington even warned the RBI that its access to the US financial system could be restricted because of its Russia business.
(Reporting by Reuters; Writer: Alexander Marrow; Editor: Gareth Jones)
