Although sanctions against Russia are still in full force and many Western companies and banks left the market at the beginning of the invasion, it has now become apparent that many banks are still operating, and quite successfully, in the territory of Mother Russia.
As a result, the European Union is losing patience, and a senior official told Insider that there is increasing pressure from the European Central Bank for these specific banks to finally exit their operations in Russia.
– I think it is important for banks to remain very focused on further reducing their exposure on Russian soil and ideally, to leave the market as soon as possible – said Andrea Enria, the chief supervisor of the ECB at the European Financial Conference.
He added that there is a significant reputational risk for all those who continue their business in Russia.
Although it is unclear how many Western banks are still operating in Russia, the Financial Times recently reported that only a handful of the 45 Western banks with subsidiaries in Russia managed to exit at the beginning of the invasion when many Western companies left the Russian market.
The comments from the ECB and its officials followed after it became evident that some Western companies with operations in Russia are still profitably operating in the country more than a year after the start of the invasion and the imposition of sanctions.
As many as 100 Western companies that remained in Russia earned so much money that they contributed nearly 288 billion rubles, or 3.5 billion dollars, in corporate taxes in 2022, according to a report by Novaya Gazeta Europe from June 8. Specifically, the Austrian Raiffeisen Bank nearly quadrupled its net profit to 141 billion rubles, according to an independent Russian news agency.
