Raiffeisen Bank closes Russian banks’ correspondent accounts
Austria-headquartered Raiffeisen Bank International has closed all correspondent accounts of Russian banks, except for its own subsidiary in Russia, it revealed to investors on Friday.
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Raiffeisen confirmed that it was going to sell the Russian subsidiary or spin it off from the group, and would be reducing its business activity in Russia until that happened.
In February, Raiffeisen Bank International was reported to be closing correspondent accounts of Russian banks, with five partner banks in Russia at the time.
The process reportedly accellerated in January, when the US treasury department launched a probe into Raiffeisen and demanded information on transactions ‘in connection with recent events around Russia and Ukraine’.
A correspondent account is a bank account opened by one bank in another bank for the purpose of performing financial transactions between them, such as transferring funds, crediting payments, buying and selling currency, etc.
A correspondent account can be opened in one currency or in several currencies, depending on the bank's needs.
Earlier this year, Raiffeisen Bank International was included by Ukraine’s anti-corruption body in the list of international sponsors of war because its bank in Russia continues to operate more than a year into the full-scale war.
