Russia’s largest lender, Sberbank, is leaving the European market as its subsidiaries there face large outflows of deposits and threats to the safety of workers and property, the bank said on Wednesday.
The bank said it was no longer able to provide liquidity to European subsidiaries, but its capital level and asset quality were sufficient to make payments to all depositors.
In the current situation, Sberbank has decided to leave the European market.
“The group’s subsidiary banks have faced abnormal cash outflows and threats to the safety of its employees and branches,” it said in a statement.
The unprecedented steps taken by Western nations to isolate Russia’s economy and financial system due to its invasion of Ukraine include sanctions on its central bank and the exclusion of some of its lenders from the global Swift payment system.
On Monday, the European Central Bank (ECB) warned that Sberbank’s European arm was facing closure following a depletion of its deposits that sparked a backlash.
Sberbank, which operates in Austria, Croatia, Germany and Hungary, had European assets worth € 13 billion as of December 31, 2020.
Follow Skai.gr on Google News
and be the first to know all the news
