Raiffeisen Bank International’s (RBI) planned exit from Russia has become significantly more difficult, following a ruling by a Russian court that amounts to a sales ban.
Accordingly, an interim order effectively barred the bank from selling its Russian subsidiary to potential buyers, the RBI announced in a press release on Thursday evening. However, a spokesperson stressed that they are still committed to the plan to scale back their operations in Russia.
Due to the court’s restriction of disposal, it is currently legally impossible for the financial institution to transfer shares in the Russian subsidiary and thereby sell shares. The operational activities of Raiffeisenbank Russia are not affected by this, and the other ownership rights are not affected, the spokesperson explained.
Raiffeisen announces countermeasures
The RBI will “pursue all legal remedies to overturn today’s court order,” the statement said, adding that this will complicate the sale process and “inevitably lead to delays.”
The background to the decision is a lawsuit filed by Russian investor Oleg Deripaska’s Rasperia Trading Limited against Austrian construction group Strabag and its Austrian core shareholders. Although RBI is not a party to the proceedings, Raiffeisenbank Russia is named in the lawsuit as related to the other defendants.
Complicated construction fails
RBI’s options for action with regard to its Russian activities are therefore further limited for the time being. Bank boss Johann Strobl recently mooted a partial sale, and a spin-off has also been mentioned as an option in the past. The attempt to get frozen funds out of the country through a complex deal failed in early May. The shares in Strabag originally held by Deripaska were to be acquired by RBI’s Russian subsidiary and then flow to the parent company as dividend in kind.
Raffeisen Bank International is the largest Western bank in Russia. After the Russian attack on Ukraine, it came under pressure to scale down or abandon its business there. The bank still makes a lot of money in the country: in the first half of 2024, that was 705 million euros, about half of the group’s profit after taxes. No dividends flow to Vienna.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
