Leading Swiss bank warns Russian clients’ accounts to be closed

The Swiss bank Julius Baer has warned its clients that permanently reside in Russia about the closure of their accounts, Main Partner Trust, a consultancy, said, citing the banks’ letter.

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The letter, confirmed as authentic by one of the clients, reads that all business relations with clients residing in Russia will be terminated by 31 December 2023 due to "the current circumstances and restrictions" that do not allow the bank to provide clients with a full range of asset management services that meet the standards.

It also reads that Julius Baer will terminate all agreements and contracts, including loan agreements, with Russian clients starting from 30 September, with only limited services to be provided thereafter,

In addition, from 1 August, additional fees will be introduced, including a quarterly service fee of CHF 2,250 (USD 2,590).

Consequenlty, Julius Baer has asked that its clients provide the necessary information to start the process of closing accounts and transferring funds to other accounts.

Earlier this year, Credit Suisse and UBS, other Swiss banks, warned clients from Russia that they would close their accounts if they found out that they had paid taxes to the Russian budget.

In May, Austria-headquartered Raiffeisen Bank International said it had closed all correspondent accounts of Russian banks, except for its own subsidiary in Russia.