The last of Russia’s major state-owned banks, which retains access to the SWIFT system for international payments in the world’s major currencies, will become subject to new US sanctions.
The White House is considering blacklisting Gazprombank, the Russian Federation’s third-largest bank by assets, which is a “hub” for gas payments with Europe. As the Nikkei reported, citing officials familiar with the matter, GPB could be subject to blocking sanctions: it would be barred from any transactions with US banks. A decision on sanctions will be made by the end of November – the United States has notified its G7 partners about this, sources told the publication, including high-ranking European officials.
Directly owned by Gazprom with a third and another 40% by its pension fund, Gazprombank is not yet subject to strict Western restrictions: in the United States it is only prohibited from raising capital on the debt market, although its top managers and a subsidiary are subject to blocking sanctions IT company. In the European Union, GPB also avoids blacklists, and only Britain has introduced blockers against the bank.
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First published in this link of The European Times.
