Kostin: even if VTB falls under sanctions, customer dollar deposits will not be affected. Sberbank and VTB are threatened by the most serious American sanctions Sanctions against VTB

At the Eastern Economic Forum, President and Chairman of the Board of VTB Andrey Kostin told what to expect from the ruble in the near future and commented on the minister’s statement economic development Maxim Oreshkin that it’s time for Russians to sell dollars, and also said what to expect for clients who have placed dollar deposits with VTB if the bank falls under American sanctions.

Let us remind you that both VTB Bank and its head are already under sanctions. In April 2018, the US Treasury published a sanctions list of 26 names on its website, including Kostin.

And VTB Bank has been under EU sectoral sanctions since August 1, 2014, under which EU citizens and companies are prohibited from buying or selling new shares, bonds or “similar financial instruments" with a circulation period of more than 90 days, issued by banks included in the sanctions list. It's about about Russian financial institutions, in which the state’s share of ownership reaches more than 50%, their “subsidiaries” and those who act on their behalf. The ban also applies valuable papers that can be transferred from one market participant to another, that is, shares, depositary receipts, bonds, and instruments money market(bills of exchange, certificates of deposit, commercial paper). But VTB can attract loans from EU banks.

However, in August 2018, a bill on a sharp tightening of US sanctions against Russia was published on the website of the US Congress. Document S.3336 entitled "On strengthening NATO, combating international cybercrime and imposing additional sanctions on Russian Federation" proposes to introduce new restrictions on the financial sector of the Russian Federation. In particular, it is proposed to introduce a ban on operations and freeze the property in the United States of "several financial institutions", including VTB, as well as the Bank of Moscow, which was merged with VTB. The current sanctions only prohibit the attraction new debt and equity financing in the US, while the new proposals may actually mean that standard dollar settlements through correspondent accounts with US banks will not be possible.

Speaking about the risks for the bank's clients, Kostin said that their dollar deposits will not be affected, since there are risk protection mechanisms. In an interview with Business FM, he said that November will be a new test for the ruble.

“I still hope that it won’t come to global sanctions against financial institutions or even the largest ones. There is such hope, but we’ll see... We have a lot of dollars now. If people run to withdraw money, we will give it to everyone,” he said Kostin, noting that the bank is also considering options for transferring dollar deposits to other banks if they buy out the deposits and pay in rubles at the current rate.

According to the head of VTB, Russia should get rid of payments in dollars altogether. He cited the example of Turkey, where President Recep Erdogan is “an ardent supporter of settlements in national currency", and also recalled the call of the ex-president of the Bank of France, Christian Neuer, who back in 2014 spoke in favor of the need to trade for the yuan or the euro - “anything but the American currency.”

As Kostin notes, the United States uses the dollar as a weapon, as political pressure. “This is purely a measure of political pressure actually on the policy of a particular country, the more, of course, there will be a desire to move away from the dollar,” said the head of VTB.

According to him, it may take “twenty years” to abandon payments in dollars, but this process will definitely occur, as evidenced by the reaction to the American sanctions policy.

“Now the Ministry of Finance is working, in my opinion, to give carrots to those companies that will trade in the national currency, in terms of currency legislation, registration... And they, the companies, say: give us a good mechanism, give us incentive, we will do it. But from a point of view. banking services“, I believe that we have created an absolutely adequate mechanism that allows us to do all this,” assures the head of VTB.

As for the call of the head of the Ministry of Economic Development, Maxim Oreshkin, for Russians to refuse the dollar, then, according to Kostin, he “was one of the brightest economists and managers when he worked at VTB.” “I agree with him - there are reasons that will contribute to the growth of the ruble. But I have to wait until November and see if the sanctions are so bad for our enterprises and the economy... As for the forecast, I think that the rate ( Central Bank refinancing rate, the decision on which will be made on September 14 - approx. ed.) will be preserved. I guess central bank, although he now understands the increased risks, he also understands, in my opinion, that this cannot be done. Because a reverse trend always creates uncertainty and confusion in the market,” Kostin said, noting that the 7.25% rate is quite acceptable for the current inflation rate, which is projected to be 4.5% per year.

Project of new US anti-Russian sanctions. Among other things, it demands a ban on US operations (and an asset freeze) for seven Russian banking structures already under sanctions, including Sberbank, VTB, VEB and Promsvyazbank. In practice, this will mean that these banks will not be able to make standard dollar payments through correspondent accounts in US banks.

The draft law is on the website of the US Senate (the release does not say anything about banks)
The draft law is published by Kommersant. Section 238 specifies 7 banks:

• Sberbank

The law says:

exercise regulations prohibiting United States persons from engaging in transactions with, providing financing for, or in any other way dealing in Russian sovereign debt debt issued on or after the date that 180 days after such enactment; and

Exercise all powers granted to the President by the International Emergency Economic Power Act to the extent necessary to block and prohibit all transactions in all property and interests in property of one or more of the Russian financial institutions specified in subsection (b) if such property and interests in property are in the United States, come within the United States, or are or come within the possession or control of a United States person.

On this day, August 8, reports appeared that queues of people lined up at Sberbank branches to close foreign currency deposits and transfer them in cash to a safe deposit box.

Questions have arisen: is it worth worrying about a foreign currency deposit at Sberbank VTB?

What does it mean to stop all transactions?

You will not be able to use your VISA/Mastercard cards from these banks, because... American payment systems terminate relations due to the ban

You will not be able to carry out currency transfers(receive money to a $ account in Sberbank, transfer money from it to other banks), because American and European banks will terminate correspondent relations with these financial institutions(SWIFT will no longer work)

You will be able to withdraw cash from your foreign currency account if the bank does not run out of currency and cash currency they will definitely run out, because... state banks will not be able to buy it and import it into the country, as they did before => a shortage of cash currency is possible

You will be able to withdraw money from your account in rubles at the rate that the bank will offer you, most likely with a discount to the market price or with a commission of 5%, because usually the rate at Sberbank is the most unfavorable on the market, and in an unusual situation it can become even lower

The most likely scenario is the Latvian example with the ABLV bank, when dollar deposits were converted at a discount after the introduction of sanctions.

The least likely scenario is a complete blocking of foreign currency accounts

Perhaps, for settlements between legal entities in the case of Russian state banks, a mechanism will be worked out for transferring foreign currency obligations of state banks to clients to other, private banks that are not subject to sanctions. Transfers can go through the Central Bank or NCC, although with the risk of secondary sanctions being applied to them.

What will happen to the euro in state banks?

Everything is the same as with the dollar. For example, for transfers in euros, Sberbank uses Deutsche Bank as a correspondent, which, due to the threat of secondary sanctions, may also terminate cooperation with Sberbank.

What will happen to foreign currency deposits in other banks not subject to sanctions?

Nothing, unless the entire banking system collapses due to the blocking of dollar accounts of the main banks of the country :)

What to do?

Cash dollars is the safest option.

The second option is to transfer the foreign currency account to Russian branch reliable European bank.

The third option is if you already have a foreign currency account in foreign bank, you can transfer money there.

The fourth option is to open a brokerage account with a European broker, such as Exante, and transfer money there.

Precedents have happened more than once in the history of Sberbank

1990 deposit freeze

1998 conversion of dollars into rubles at a reduced rate

2008 suspension of currency issuance and exchange

Will sanctions be introduced?

Sanctions against Sberbank and VTB are an incredibly tough measure. American counterparties, Mastercard/VISA, as well as American investors, who at the end of 2017 had a 33% stake in the authorized capital of Sberbank, will also suffer from it. IN this moment We would consider the likelihood of such sanctions to be less than 50%, however, if the US State Department wants to start a revolution in Russia, it will definitely impose sanctions against Sberbank and VTB.

Actually, it's a terrible thing.
She explains why the dollar is flying up and Sber is flying down.
I hope that such sanctions will not be introduced. This is because the cruelty is already at its peak.

The black streak continues. Oleg Deripaska lost financial support from VTB due to US sanctions. This was stated by the head of the bank Andrei Kostin. And not just anywhere, but in an interview with the American television channel CNBC.

We no longer give him new loans, we do not conduct any transactions with him, with Rusal and his other companies. We await decisions from the US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC."

Kostin said in a television interview with the Americans.

The experts started talking, the head of VTB made it clear to Western partners in this interview: he is one of his own and is not going to change his liberal orientation to a patriotic one. Therefore, I am ready to unquestioningly carry out the instructions that come from overseas. Andrei Kostin is trying to sit on two chairs - to retain his position in the leadership of the second largest bank with state participation, and at the same time to please his foreign curators.

"Part of them ( oligarchs- approx. Tsargrad) faces a fork in the road - either bow to the United States and, in fact, choose a new homeland with money, or choose a homeland, but risk the money. The choice is unpleasant, but it was determined from the very beginning,” political scientist, associate professor at MGIMO Kirill Koktysh told a Tsargrad correspondent.

I could help the domestic oligarchy decide on double standards new law, which has so far stalled in the State Duma. It provides for criminal liability for compliance with anti-Russian sanctions. Parliamentarians approved it in the first reading last week, but immediately after that amazing metamorphoses began. The Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP) called the adoption of the bill categorically unacceptable. The RSPP noted that the document creates risks of unfounded criminal prosecution for both Russian citizens and foreigners.

Chairman of the Russian economic society them. S.F. Sharapova, Professor Valentin Katasonov recalled that “members of the RSPP are companies in which the main positions are occupied by foreign investors, foreign shareholders."

We are deceived by these signs. Some people know, some don’t, but, for example, in Lukoil there are a lot of foreign shareholders and even more than Russian ones. We have repeatedly talked about Sberbank - so, this is a sign,”

He specified.

The sign worked - the oligarchy won an intermediate victory. The State Duma listened to the claims of the RSPP and postponed consideration of the bill for an indefinite period.

We believe that this is an absolutely reasonable decision. If you remember, when we discussed the law in the first reading, I asked the authors a question: would a similar situation arise? And, unfortunately, my fears came true. Businesses have questions. I think it is possible to find a structure in which these concerns can be removed by the second reading,”

State Duma deputy Valery Gartung said.

However, experts doubt whether the bill will go to the second reading. Too many people are interested in having the document shelved. Mr. Kostin was not ordered to be friends with Deripaska.

Oleg Deripaska. Photo: www.globallookpress.com

And his company was not ordered to lend. And the head of VTB is not very concerned about the fact that the voluntary implementation of sanctions deals a blow to the country’s most important aluminum industry.

The lack of long-term investment may negatively affect Russia's competitiveness. This was stated CEO"Rusala" by Alexander Buriko at the plenary session of the Stolypin Forum:

To stimulate growth, different conditions are needed. In order to attract investment, we must be competitive compared to other countries; we need transparent conditions for doing business for the long term. This is a long-term investment."

However, the fact that the concept social responsibility for Andrei Kostin is alien, it was known before. VTB Bank has not yet opened a single branch in Crimea and Sevastopol.

“When the Managing Director of the IMF, Mrs. Lagarde, was asked if the West was going to lift sanctions, she laughed and said, why would we lift sanctions against you when your state is using your own state banks to apply these same sanctions against you? - economist Mikhail Delyagin recalled in a conversation with a Constantinople correspondent. - Why should the West treat Russia better than itself? Russian state refers to yourself? Sorry, please, there is a choice. Do you serve Russia or do you serve the enemies of Russia. Under a government like Medvedev’s, under Nabiullina at the Bank of Russia, destroying Russia is significant best business than to build Russia. As far as I can tell.”

However, Andrei Kostin himself, who diligently implements US sanctions, can become a bargaining chip in the hands of his Western partners. Like Deripaska, Kostin saw his name on the sanctions lists. In an interview with CNBC, and 2 months later, he could not hide his surprise at this fact.

“I am listed as a high-ranking official, which I am not. I am the chairman of the board of one of the leading commercial, international banks. I have nothing to do with the undermining of American democracy, hacker attacks or government actions in Syria, which were cited as reasons for imposing sanctions. The entire banking community of the world knows me as a banker,” Kostin justified himself.

The banker, who is accustomed to servile before the West, will still have to make a choice. Dualism of consciousness is no longer valuable. Delay may cost the head of VTB reputational losses both in Russia and in the United States.

Which country do you choose, Mr. Kostin?

We are talking about financing state defense orders. If banks fall under new sanctions, they will lose the opportunity to conduct currency operations

Sberbank and VTB may fall under new, this time the most serious, sanctions. This is due to the financing of state defense orders, writes Bloomberg. New restrictions may deprive state banks of the ability to conduct foreign exchange transactions, and therefore the state may create new bank for financing defense enterprises, without the participation of VTB and Sberbank. How likely are such scenarios?

The anti-Russian sanctions that Trump approved in August are in general terms. Specifics will only be available at the beginning of 2018. But one of the points concerns the financing of Russian defense and intelligence. For this, the US authorities may deprive access to American financial system, which, according to Bloomberg, Sberbank and VTB are now very afraid of. Money goes through these banks for government defense orders: organizations issue loans to defense enterprises, and after the fact these funds are compensated by the government. Sberbank and VTB are already under American sanctions imposed three years ago. They limit access to capital markets. But now the most serious thing that was feared back in 2014 may happen: for participating in the state defense order, banks may not be able to conduct transactions in dollars.

First Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors of Alfa Bank“First of all, these sanctions are very serious. Secondly, naturally, none of the Russian banks, those that operate in currency, especially public companies such as Sberbank, VTB and other banks, want to lose this opportunity. Thirdly, sanctions have so far been declared only in general view, and everyone is waiting for the specification of these material transactions language.”

You can, of course, transfer money to the defense industry directly from the budget, but this is inconvenient. In addition, the treasury will have to borrow them somewhere in order to pay enterprises right away. The journalists' interlocutors said that the authorities had come up with a way out - the creation of a new state bank, which will finance the defense industry. But there are also a lot of pitfalls here. The bank is not a warrior in the field; it lives in the system and interacts with other participants. If US sanctions are really tough, anyone who works with this organization will also be subject to restrictions. This means that the new bank is unlikely to be able to borrow money. Andrey Frolov, editor-in-chief of the Arms Export magazine, speaks about other problems:

Researcher at the Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies, Editor-in-Chief of the Arms Export magazine“To create this kind of monster... That is, for example, last year our state defense order was about 1.6 trillion rubles. These amounts will probably decrease, but they will not fall below a trillion in any case. How will this all be organized? And the most important thing is that this cannot be created with the wave of a magic wand, that is, it will take several years. There will be a transition period when banks will still have to deal with state defense orders.”

There are still several unanswered questions. Russia imports some military technologies. Taking into account American sanctions, will they be supplied to us? What about exports? Russia is the world's second-largest arms exporter, occupying approximately a quarter of the planet's market. As you know, in first place is the United States itself, in third place is China. We supply weapons, including to NATO countries. By the way, on September 12, Moscow and Ankara signed an internationally acclaimed contract for the supply of S-400 anti-aircraft systems. And Türkiye, as Recep Erdogan said, even made a deposit, but the amount is unknown. This means that if we interpret American sanctions as Bloomberg interprets them, then potentially not a single country in the world will buy weapons from us. This scenario is hard to believe. By the way, Business FM’s sources in state banks say that there is currently no pressing issue regarding the defense order. As for the new state bank with a huge turnover, you can believe it. This is exactly in the Russian tradition. However, it has nothing to do with sanctions.

24.09.2018 16:12

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(Reuters) Banker Andrei Shlyakhovoy, who bought a Serbian subsidiary from the state bank VTB in July, will not merge it with his Russian bank The agricultural union, which came under US sanctions two weeks after the deal, Shlyakhovoy’s representative told Reuters.

State Bank VTB sold its Serbian subsidiary VTB Banka for $14.3 million to Shlyakhovoy, whose bank Agrosoyuz was then placed on the US Treasury Department's sanctions list for violating sanctions against North Korea.

The fact that VTB Group was leaving the Serbian market became known in the spring of 2017. First Deputy Chairman of the Board of VTB Yuri Solovyov told the Kommersant newspaper that foreign investors are interested in buying the bank.

However, on July 26, 2018, as follows from the data of the Eikon terminal and the website of the Serbian bank, 100 percent of the shares of VTB Banka a.d. Beograd was acquired by a Serbian company, the sole founder of which is Russian investor Andrei Shlyakhovoy.

Shlyakhova - former top manager AFK Sistema, who previously headed the corporation's subsidiary bank, MTS Bank. Now he is the sole shareholder of Agrosoyuz Bank, which ranks 193rd in terms of assets.

Two weeks after the announcement of the deal with VTB - on August 6, 2018 - the US Treasury Department included the Agrosoyuz on the sanctions list due to violations of sanctions against North Korea. The US Treasury said at the time that the bank facilitated “substantial transactions on behalf of an individual designated for activities related to weapons of mass destruction in connection with North Korea.”

American sanctions are clearly divided into personal and corporate, Shlyakhovoy’s representative responded to a Reuters request.

“The decision taken to include Agrosoyuz Bank in the sanctions list does not relate to the personality of Andrei Shlyakhovoy, he is not on the sanctions lists, only Agrosoyuz Bank was included there,” says his response to a Reuters request.

According to Shlyakhovoy’s representative, the bank in Serbia will not merge with Agrosoyuz.

The press service of the Central Bank of Serbia indicated that the Serbian subsidiary of VTB was bought by a Serbian company owned by Shlyakhovoy, and not by Agrosoyuz Bank. She did not comment on possible sanctions risks associated with the new investor.

The VTB press service responded that since the closing of the deal, VTB “has no relation to the Serbian bank.”

The Serbian bank itself said that it “is not associated with any organizations that have enterprises in the territories that were subject to sanctions, therefore the change of ownership in the above-mentioned context will not affect its business in Serbia.”

(Editor: Dmitry Antonov)