Page 103 - RusRPTAug22

8.1.8 Bank news
The only bank in the top 10 with foreign capital that is free from sanctions, Raiffeisenbank, has raised commissions on foreign currency accounts, as well as the minimum amount of foreign currency transfers. The bank informed customers about the change in conditions on its website. From July 31, the fee for servicing current currency and brokerage accounts will be 0.5% per month on the amount over 5,000 and 1% on the amount over 50,000 in the account currency (except for yen). A commission is also introduced for the purchase of foreign currency to a brokerage account - 3% of the transfer amount. Starting from Monday, July 18, the minimum amount of an outgoing currency transfer when processing at a branch will be 5,000 $. in the currency of the debit account, and from August 1, the limit will also be in Raiffeisen Online - 3000 $.
Ukraine demands US and EU banks stop working with Russia. At least four Western banks, JPMorgan, HSBC, Citigroup, and Crédit Agricole, received letters from Ukraine demanding they cease cooperation with Russia in the oil sector. Ukraine justified its position by the fact that granting loans to companies that supply Russian oil leads to a prolongation of the war. As noted by Oleg Ustenko, economic adviser to the President of Ukraine, on whose behalf the letters were sent, the Ministry of Justice will file a lawsuit against the banks at the International Criminal Court after the war's end. Special services of Ukraine are already collecting information about financial institutions that support trade in Russian fossil fuels. The letters to the banks also state that they will be prohibited from participating in the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine in the event of further cooperation with Russia.
Major Western banks' Russian divisions have started hiring staff in July after Moscow obstructed their exit from the country, Reuters reports. Following the Kremlin’s Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine, Western banks in Russia moved to remove foreign nationals from senior positions and study ways to exit the market — but they have recently started hiring again after realizing they would not be able to easily withdraw. Deputy Finance Minister Alexei Moisseev said Moscow would block the sale of foreign banks' Russian businesses as long as Russian banks abroad were unable to operate normally. The Central Bank also refused to take over foreign banks' local businesses, Reuters reported, citing sources with direct knowledge of the matter. Foreign banks accounted for 11% of Russia’s total banking capital at the end of 2021, the latest Central Bank data shows.
103 RUSSIA Country Report October 2020 www.intellinews.com