Sberbank Europe, who commands the bankrupt Russian bank
Sanctions on Russia for the attack on Ukraine have pushed Sberbank Europe, a European subsidiary of the Russian state bank, to the brink of bankruptcy. Here are statements and reactions
For the European Central Bank Sberbank Europe, the European subsidiary of the Russian state bank of the same name, is on the verge of bankruptcy due to the sanctions imposed by the West against Russia for the invasion of Ukraine.
WHAT THE ECB SAID
The European Central Bank said Sberbank Europe – whose headquarters is in Austria, and has branches in Croatia and Slovenia – is dealing with "significant deposit outflows as a result of the reputational impact of geopolitical tensions". Therefore, the ECB concludes, “Sberbank Europe AG and its two branches in the banking union, Sberbank dd in Croatia and Sberbank banka dd in Slovenia, are going bankrupt or are at risk of bankruptcy due to a deterioration in their liquidity situation”.
“It is probable”, it is added, “that the bank will not be able to pay its debts or other liabilities falling due”.
THE SANCTIONS IN SBERBANK
On Thursday, the United States imposed sanctions on Russia's two largest banks – Sberbank, and VTB – to limit their ability to carry out financial transactions internationally. The sanctions have been tightened in recent days, with the announcement of the expulsion of the two banks from the SWIFT network: this is the standard for international payments, which includes eleven thousand institutions and companies in more than two hundred countries.
WHO CONTROLS SBERBANK EUROPE
Sberbank Europe is wholly owned, one hundred percent, by the Russian parent company. In addition to those in Austria, Croatia and Slovenia, it has branches in European countries that do not fall under the jurisdiction of the ECB: Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Serbia.
The majority shareholder of Sberbank is the Russian national sovereign wealth fund, which is itself controlled by the Moscow government. The chairman of the bank's supervisory body is Anton Siluanov, the Russian Ministry of Finance. The managing director is Herman Gref, who previously held the position of Minister of Economy and Commerce.
The managing director of Sbernank Europe, on the other hand, is Sonja Sarközi , since 2008: previously she was CEO of easybankAG. The Chief Financial Officer and Deputy CEO is Pavel Barchugov, who from 1995 to 2008 was Head of Finance and Chief Accountant at Bank Austria / UniCredit Bank Russia.
WHAT AUSTRIA HAS DONE
The financial market authority of Austria (the country where Sberbank Europe is headquartered) has imposed a moratorium on the bank until March 1, 2022, with immediate effect. It means that account holders will be able to withdraw a maximum daily sum of 100 euros, while the bank will not be able to make disbursements, transfers or other operations.
WHAT GERMANY HAS DONE
In Germany Deutsche Boerse, the operator of the German stock exchange, has announced the suspension from trading of a series of Russian stocks, with immediate effect: the list includes Sberbank, VTB and the oil company Lukoil.
CONSEQUENCES FOR EUROPEAN (ALSO ITALIAN) BANKS
The invasion of Ukraine by Russia caused a general collapse of the European banking sector. The most affected institutions are those most exposed to the Russian market: Raiffeisen Bank International, Austrian, lost 18 per cent, for example; the Italian UniCredit 8 per cent; the German Deutsche Bank – which had opened a new office in Moscow only in December – 7 per cent; the French Société générale, 6.9 per cent.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/economia/sberbank-europe/ on Mon, 28 Feb 2022 11:55:36 +0000.