International reserves declined by almost 8% in May, National Bank says
The NBU's international reserves have fluctuated significantly since the beginning of Russia's full-scale war, dropping as low as $22 billion in July 2022.
Banking
‘Not a stroke of luck:’ CEO of Ukrsibbank BNP Paribas Group on continuing operations during Russia’s war
Laurent Dupuch has weathered not one but two storms over the past few years as CEO and country manager of one of Ukraine’s largest banks Ukrsibbank. He arrived in Ukraine after almost seven years as CEO of the bank’s Morocco operations at the beginning of March 2020, right
Russian court softens restrictions on Italy's UniCredit bank
The court ruled that UniCredit could offer Russian sovereign bond holdings instead of assets to satisfy the seizure order.
G7, EU want to target banks helping Russia evade sanctions, Bloomberg reports
In particular, the allies are considering steps against banks using SPFS, Russia's alternative to the SWIFT messaging system, to circumvent trade restrictions, the outlet said.
Reuters: US warns Raiffeisen that access to dollar system could be restricted due to Russia presence
Austria's Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) was warned by the U.S. Treasury that its access to the U.S. financial system could be curbed due to its continued presence in the Russian market, Reuters reported on May 15.
Russian media: Raiffeisen Bank will begin exiting Russia in summer 2024
The Vienna-based bank group, the largest remaining Western bank in Russia, has been under increasing pressure since the start of Russia's all-out war to scale down its activities in the country.
Reuters: Austrian authorities warn Raiffeisen Bank over deal with Russian oligarch Deripaska
Raiffeisen has been interested in buying a 1.5 billion euro ($1.6 billion) stake in the construction company Strabag, which is linked to Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska.
FT: Western banks paid 4 times more taxes to Russia in 2023 than before all-out war
The largest Western banks that continue to operate in Russia have paid 800 million euros ($857 million) in taxes to its budget in 2023, which is four times more than before Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Financial Times (FT) reported, citing its analysis.
Reuters: Chinese companies go 'underground' on Russia payments
Some Chinese banks Major Chinese are limiting payments for transactions with Russia due to concerns about U.S. sanctions, Reuters reported on April 29, citing unnamed trading and banking sources familiar with the matter.
Russia's Sberbank reports $4.32 billion profit, dividends to boost Kremlin war chest
Being majority-owned by the Russian state, dividends can be used to fund the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
European Parliament calls on Austria to pressure Raiffeisen bank to leave Russia
"Instead of repeated statements about intentions to reduce and sell their activities in Russia, the Raiffeisen Bank International is the Western lender with the largest operations in Russia."
WSJ: US drafting sanctions aimed at Chinese banks aiding Russia’s war effort
Washington hopes they will allow Secretary of State Antony Blinken to arrive armed with diplomatic leverage on a visit to China this week, in a push to stop Beijing's commercial support of Russia's military production.
Ukraine state-owned enterprises weekly — Issue 128
Editor’s Note: This is issue 128 of Ukrainian State-Owned Enterprises Weekly, covering events from April 13-19, 2024. The Kyiv Independent is reposting it with permission. Banks Oschadbank earns a record Hr 6 billion profit in 2023 (audited). On April 19, Oschadbank reported that its executive and supervisory boards approved
Reuters: Italy's UniCredit expecting push from ECB to reduce business in Russia
The news follows a similar warning received by Austria's Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) on April 18 that the ECB was requesting an accelerated wind-down of its business in Russia.
Raiffeisen expects push from ECB to cut back on activities in Russia
Austria's Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) said on April 18 that it expects a request by European regulators to accelerate the wind-down of business in Russia.
Bloomberg: Trade of yuan in Russia's foreign exchange market reaches record high
The data was another illustration of the increasing importance of the yuan in Russia's economy amid the growing de-coupling from Western financial systems.
US lifts sanctions against former European branch of Russia's VTB Bank
Ost-West Handelsbank has been removed from the list, according to the information on the office's website. The names under which the bank used to operate earlier – VTB Bank Deutschland and VTB Bank Europe – were also struck down.
Samsung Pay will stop working with Russian Mir cards in April
The move was likely spurred by the announcement of new U.S. sanctions against the Russian National Payment Card system (NSPK) in February 2024, which coincided with the second anniversary of the full-scale war and the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny at a penal colony in Russia.
Russian media: Several Chinese banks stop accepting yuan payments from Russia
Several Chinese banks have stopped accepting payments from Russia in Chinese yuan, fearing ramifications of U.S. sanctions, the Russian state-controlled outlet Izvestia reported on March 21, citing representatives of the Russian baking sector and business.
Russian media: Most Armenian banks to stop accepting Russian Mir cards
Representatives from the partially Russian-state owned bank VTB told RBC that most banks in Armenia, barring VTB, would stop accepting cards that worked through the Mir payment system by March 30.
Reuters: Ukraine refuses to remove Austrian Raiffeisen bank from 'sponsors of war' list
Ukraine's National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP) has refused to remove Austria's Raiffeisen Bank from the international sponsors of war list, citing the bank still not having a clear plan to leave the Russian market, Reuters reported on Feb. 15.
Ukrainian bonds plunge amid Russia’s military buildup
Ukrainian government bonds fell by up to 4.6% on Jan. 17, as Russia continued to mass troops on Ukraine’s border, fuelling fears of a large-scale invasion. Sovereign bond yields are often used as an indicator of foreign investor confidence in a country’s economy: the higher the yield,
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