Raiffeisenbank has suspended the opening of accounts for new legal entities and additional foreign currency accounts for existing corporate clients. Initially, this information appeared in the Telegram channel MarketOverview, then it was confirmed by Kommersant in the press service of the bank. The restrictions also apply to individual entrepreneurs.
“Raiffeisen Bank temporarily suspends the opening of accounts for new clients to legal entities, and also limits the opening of new foreign currency accounts for existing clients to legal entities,” the bank said in a statement.
The bank explained this decision by a large number of applications for settlement and cash services, which it cannot cope with due to increased checks and requirements of correspondent banks. At the same time, Raiffeisenbank will continue to serve only clients who have already opened accounts.
Raiffeisenbank is a subsidiary of Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) in Russia. According to the Financial Times, the bank services 40-50% of Russia’s payments with other countries. In the third quarter of 2022, the Russian subsidiary provided 68% of the financial result of the entire Austrian group.
On January 11, the National Bank of Ukraine demanded that Raiffeisen Bank International withdraw from the Russian market, as the bank provides favorable lending terms to the Russian military. On February 17, Raiffeisen Bank International announced the restriction of the correspondent network in Russia to five banks (the rest were limited to transfers in dollars and euros). On February 18, the US Department of the Treasury launched an investigation into the group in connection with Russian business.
Read regarding the financial performance of the bank in the material “Raiffeisenbank has collected accounts.”
