Sberbank said it is not in a position to provide liquidity to its European subsidiaries due to a provision of the Russian Central Bank.
Around 11:15 GMT, Sberbank’s certificate of deposit on the London Stock Exchange shattered its value, plummeting 94% to a price of $0.01.
It has a presence in 8 countries
The bank has a presence in eight European countries: Germany, Austria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovenia, Serbia and Bosnia Herzegovina.
“The (European) subsidiaries of Sberbank have a high level of capital and assets, client funds are guaranteed in accordance with local laws,” the bank said.
The Sberbank subsidiary in Switzerland is not concerned, Polina Trizonova, head of the bank’s press service, said in a statement: “The Sberbank subsidiary in Switzerland is not part of the Sberbank Europe group. The bank in Switzerland continues to function normally.” said.
The European Union sanctions seek to prevent Russian banks from having access to international capital markets.
On Tuesday the European Union’s banking regulator announced that Sberbank’s European subsidiary was authorized to declare bankruptcy, due to the sanctions.
The headquarters – located in Austria – employs 4,000 people and will be subject to insolvency proceedings, indicated the Single Resolution Board (JUR).
Sberbank announced solid results for 2021 on Wednesday, with a 64% rise in net profit, a year that will be greatly affected by the strong depreciation of the ruble.
7 Russian banks excluded from Swift payments
Meanwhile, the countries of the European Union (EU) excluded from the Swift financial transaction system seven Russian banks, sanctioned for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to a decision published this Wednesday in the bloc’s Official Gazette.
In the list of sanctioned banks, VTB stands out, the second largest in Russia. However, the measure does not affect the largest Russian bank, Sberbank, or Gazprombank, through which European payments for Russian oil and gas imports are processed.
