Russia’s Sberbank Pulls out of Europe amid Security Threats

Today, Wednesday, Russia’s biggest bank, Sberbank is pulling out of Europe, as it appears to have security risks for the safety of employees and branches of the bank in Europe.

Sberbank said its subsidiaries in Europe “faced an abnormal outflow of funds.”

“In light of the current situation Sberbank has taken the decision to withdraw from the European market,” the bank said.

The bank added that it could not provide liquidity to its European branches due to a ban by Russia’s central bank.

Sberbank also confirmed that its subsidiaries in Europe enjoy a high level of capital and asset quality, stressing that customer deposits are insured in accordance with local legislation and the bank's assets are sufficient to make payments to all depositors.

Earlier, the Austrian Market Supervisory Authority announced the ban on the activity of the European branch of the Russian Sberbank at the request of the European Central Bank.

The European Union announced sanctions on a number of Russian banks in light of the Russian special military operation in Ukraine, which Moscow launched after the West ignored providing security guarantees.

Contributed by Israa Farhan