A spokesperson for Raiffeisen said that the Russian court move ruled out a sale of the bank, although they said it would have no impact on the Russian bank’s operations […]
“We can still appoint management and give instructions to the Russians but we cannot sell the bank,” they said.
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Although Italy’s UniCredit also has a business in Russia and is also under pressure to leave, RBI is far larger and has become a test of Western resolve to end ties with Russia.
Russian authorities had made it clear to RBI, which has around 2,600 corporate customers, 4 million local account holders and 10,000 staff, that they wish it to stay because it enables international payments,
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RBI is a critical financial lifeline for millions of Russian customers who want to send euros or dollars abroad. Western regulators want this to change. The European Central Bank is demanding the bank pare back its Russia business.
With sprawling industrial holdings, more than 18 million customers from Vienna to Moscow and 44,000 staff, Raiffeisen is a financial linchpin for Austria and much of eastern Europe.
Russia has become an even bigger money spinner for the bank since the Ukraine war started in 2022. Russia accounted for about half of the group’s profits in the first three months of this year as fees on payments abroad spiked.
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Because Raiffeisen Bank made a hell of a lot of money in Russia and when all the other Western banks pulled out, they made even more.