EU Discusses Sanctions Against Raiffeisen Bank Over Its Operations in Russia – Bloomberg

The European Union’s 21st package of restrictions may include measures related to Austria’s Raiffeisen Bank International. At this time, EU countries have not been able to reach a final agreement on the new sanctions package, in part due to disagreements regarding the banking group. At the same time, the bank’s press office noted that discussions are focused on an issue related to a stake in the Austrian construction company Strabag.

The bank’s management had hoped for a swift resolution to the conflict in Ukraine and a return to business as usual, but attempts to sell its Russian division in recent years have been unsuccessful. In the spring, the bank stated that exiting the Russian market had become a “Sisyphean task.”

The Russian authorities are not interested in the bank’s departure, as they view it as one of the channels for money transfers to Europe. A potential deal to exit the Russian market would require the consent of several parties—Austria, Russia, the U.S., the EU, and Putin himself.

 This was reported by Bloomberg.

As a reminder, the Kremlin blocked the sale of the Russian bank Raiffeisen.

At the start of the full-scale invasion, the Austrian group Raiffeisen Bank International had expected a swift end to the war with a Russian victory and a subsequent return to business as usual in Russia.