The Russian division of Austria’s Raiffeisen Bank will stop processing outgoing payments in U.S. dollars starting on June 10, the bank announced Wednesday, citing “changed requirements of correspondent banks.”
“This change affects all bank clients… All payments in dollars correctly completed and sent before 16:00 on June 7 will be carried out taking into account previously established restrictions,” the bank said in a statement.
Raiffeisen said there would be no restrictions on incoming U.S. dollar payments, adding that starting on June 1, “there will be a 50% discount on the bank’s commission for making outgoing payments from individual clients in U.S. dollars to other banks.”
Raiffeisen previously announced plans to gradually exit Russia following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, but it has not yet offloaded its operations and has been accused by campaigners of only paying lip service to its intention to quit the market.
Earlier this month, the U.S. Treasury Department reportedly warned Raiffeisen that it could lose access to the U.S. financial system because of continued operations in Russia.
Raiffeisen Bank International saw its Russian profits more than triple to 1.8 billion euros ($1.95 billion) between 2021 and 2023, a figure that accounted for half of the bank’s total profit during that period.
The Austrian bank — which was the largest foreign bank operating in the country before the invasion — spent years building up its Russian operations. It specialized in servicing European companies, their foreign workers and other high-end international clients, but had started aggressively building up its portfolio of Russian domestic business clients in the years before Moscow invaded Ukraine.
A Message from The Moscow Times:
Dear readers,
We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."
These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.
We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.
Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.
By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.
Remind me later.
