Business News

Russia says the economy is suffering “serious blows” with increasing isolation

“Russia’s economy is being hit hard,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told foreign journalists. “But there is a certain safety margin, there is potential, there are some plans, the work is underway.”

Peskov was answering a question about US President Joe Biden’s remark in his speech on the state of the union that the Russian economy has been left to “shake” by sanctions.
Sberbank (SBRCY), Russia’s largest creditor, said on Wednesday it was leaving Europe, with the exception of Switzerland, after Austrian banking regulators forced it to close its Vienna-based EU subsidiary. The European Central Bank warned earlier this week that Sberbank Europe was likely to fail after depositors rushed to withdraw their money following Western sanctions on much of Russia’s financial system.

Sberbank said its subsidiaries had faced “extreme leakage and a number of security concerns for its employees and offices”, the group said in a statement, adding that it had been prevented from rescuing them by order of Russia’s central bank. .

Another push from Russia: Three shipping companies will not sail there

Banking sanctions are part of a broader package of measures taken by the West, unprecedented in scale against Russia’s economy, to cut off funding for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s military efforts. France estimates that $ 1 trillion in Russian assets have been frozen, including about half of the Russian government’s military reserves.

Moscow has responded with a series of emergency measures aimed at preventing a financial meltdown, halting the country’s cash flow and maintaining foreign exchange reserves. The central bank has more than doubled interest rates to 20% and banned Russian brokers from selling securities held by foreigners.

More capital control

Russia’s stock market closed on Monday and has not reopened since. The central bank said it would remain closed on Wednesday. The government has ordered exporters to exchange 80% of their foreign currency earnings for rubles and banned Russian citizens from making bank transfers outside the country.

On Tuesday, the government said Putin was working on a decree that would prevent foreign companies from leaving their Russian assets – an attempt to prevent an eviction that picked up speed this week. Putin also signed a decree banning people from taking more than $ 10,000 or the country’s foreign currency equivalent, state news agencies TASS and RIA reported.

The central bank went further on Wednesday in an attempt to stem the flow of money from the country. He stopped transfers abroad from accounts held by non-resident legal entities and individuals from a number of countries. The restriction does not apply to Russian citizens.

“Conditions in the Russian financial system and the wider economy are likely to worsen in the coming days and weeks, as sanctions already announced take their toll and future sanctions add to the continuing negative shock,” wrote Behrenberg senior economist Kalum Pickering. research note. Wednesday.

“In the foreseeable future, Russia will remain isolated from the Western world and major global markets.

Oil companies are leading corporate evictions

Russia’s energy resources have not been directly targeted by Western sanctions, but many of the world’s largest oil companies are leaving the country or halting new investments in exploration and development projects.

Moscow is also struggling to sell supplies of Russian crude oil to traders and refineries worried they will be caught in a network of financial sanctions. Tanker operators are also wary of the risk to ships in the Black Sea.

ExxonMobil said on Tuesday that it was abandoning its latest project in the country, Sakhalin-1, which has been declared “one of the largest single international direct investments in Russia”. A subsidiary of Exxon was the operator of the project and the company’s decision to withdraw will end its presence in Russia for more than 25 years.

BP (BP), Shell (RDSA) and Norwegian Equinor all said this week that they intend to leave their Russian business in the event of a billion-dollar blow to their balance sheets. of France TotalEnergies (TOT) stopped new investments.

Apple, the world’s most valuable company, announced on Tuesday that it had stopped selling all its products in Russia due to the invasion of Ukraine. Apple also said it has restricted access to digital services, such as Apple Pay, in Russia and has restricted access to Russian state-owned media applications outside the country.

Ford said on Tuesday it was suspending operations in Russia, which takes effect immediately. IN the carmaker has a 50% stake in Ford Sollers, a joint venture with Russia’s Sollers.

Boeing suspends support for Russian airlines. A company spokesman said on Tuesday that Boeing was suspending “parts, maintenance and technical support services for Russian airlines” and had also “suspended major operations in Moscow and temporarily closed our Kyiv office”.

Airbus also said it was suspending maintenance and spare parts services for Russian airlines.

– Charles Riley, Nathan Hodge, Chris Liakos, Vanessa Yurkevich, Matt Egan and Angus Watson contributed to this report.

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CRM stocks are rising as profits, highest revenue estimates

Shares of Salesforce rose on Wednesday, after gains for the quarter for January fell from a year earlier, but exceeded views, while earnings exceeded analysts’ estimates. The earnings guidelines for the CRM stock software maker were above expectations, while earnings forecasts were missed.




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Salesforce (CRM) reported a profit for the fourth quarter after the market closed on Tuesday. Shares of CRM rose 3.7% to 216.73 in trading before the market opened on the stock market today.

Including the recently acquired Slack Technologies, Salesforce’s revenue fell 19% to 84 cents on an adjusted basis. The deal with Slack ended in July.

San Francisco-based Salesforce said revenue rose 26 percent to $ 7.33 billion, including $ 312 million from Slack. A year earlier, Salesforce’s earnings were $ 1.04 per share, including investment gains, with sales of $ 5.82 billion.

In addition, CRM stock analysts expected Salesforce to report earnings of 75 cents per share on sales of $ 7.24 billion.

CRM Availability: Mixed Guidelines for the April Quarter

The enterprise software maker said CRPO’s current outstanding commitments or provisions have risen 22 percent to $ 22 billion. This exceeded analysts’ estimates of $ 21.42 billion.

CRPO’s reservations, meanwhile, are a combination of deferred revenue and lagging orders.

“CRM shares continue to benefit from the digital transformation, as seven-figure deals rose 34 percent from a year earlier and eight-digit deals (more than twice),” Cowen analyst Derrick Wood said in a report.

For the current quarter, ending in April, Salesforce’s revenue forecasts exceeded expectations. The software maker expects revenue in the range of $ 7.37 billion to $ 7.38 billion compared to forecasts of $ 7.27 billion.

In addition, the company forecasts earnings in the range of 93 to 94 cents per share compared to forecasts of $ 1 per share for CRM.

Salesforce sells subscription software. Its software helps companies organize and manage sales operations and customer relationships. The company expanded into marketing, customer service and e-commerce.

If you are new to IBD, consider looking at its stock trading system and the basics of CAN SLIM. Recognizing chart patterns in problems such as CRM stocks is one of the keys to investment guidance.

Follow Reinhard Krause on Twitter @reinhardtk_tech for 5G wireless updates, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and cloud computing.

How to use the 10-week moving average for buying and selling

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Tesla’s Elon Musk releases new line after Joe Biden praises Ford and GM’s work on electric cars

Tesla CEO Elon Musk shared a new remark to Joe Biden on Tuesday after the US president’s speech on the state of the Union. Both in his speech and later on Twitter, Biden praised Ford and GM’s investments in electric vehicles and the jobs they will create.

“Something is happening in America. Just look around and you will see an amazing story. The resurgence of pride that comes from the printing of “Made in America” ​​products. The revival of American production. Companies are choosing to build new factories here when they would have gone abroad just a few years ago.

“It simply came to our notice then. Ford is investing $ 11 billion in electric vehicles, creating 11,000 jobs nationwide. “GM is making the biggest investment in its history: $ 7 billion to build electric vehicles, creating 4,000 jobs in Michigan,” Biden said.

While investing $ 18 billion in electric vehicle programs and 14,000 jobs is no joke, Tesla CEO Elon Musk was quick to point out that Tesla has created more than 50,000 jobs in the United States. The young automaker, which is still increasing its presence in the United States with the upcoming launch of Gigafactory Texas, has also invested more than twice GM and Ford combined.

“Tesla has created more than 50,000 jobs in the United States in the electric vehicle industry and has invested more than twice GM + Ford combined,” Musk said. answers.

In an email to CNBCMusk also joked that “No one is watching the state of the Union.” Earlier, the chief executive also told the news agency that the US president “apparently ignored Tesla at every turn and falsely told the public that GM was leading the electric car industry, when in fact Tesla had produced more than 300,000 electric vehicles in the last quarter. and GM produced 26 ”. Musk’s statement is correct, as GM sold only 25 Chevy Bolts and one GMC Hummer EV in the fourth quarter of 2021.

Recent reports have hinted at the apparent reluctance of the US president to give much credit to Musk and Tesla for their work in the electric vehicle sector. Sources familiar with the Biden administration’s position reportedly said that Biden’s advisers opposed the idea of ​​inviting Musk to future events in the industry because he could say or do something to embarrass the US president.

Musk responded to these concerns by promising that “there is nothing to worry about.” I would do the right thing. “

Do not hesitate to contact us with news tips. Just send a message to [email protected] to warn us.

Tesla’s Elon Musk releases new line after Joe Biden praises Ford and GM’s work on electric cars






Tesla’s Elon Musk releases new line after Joe Biden praises Ford and GM’s work on electric cars Read More »

Ford divides electric cars and old cars into separate units

People attend the all-electric SUV of the Ford Mustang Mach-E at the 2019 Los Angeles Auto Show in Los Angeles, United States, November 22, 2019.

Xinhua via Getty Images

DETROIT – Ford Motor said Wednesday it would reorganize operations to split its electric and internal combustion engine business into separate units within the automaker.

The company expects the move to streamline its growing electric vehicle business and maximize profits. This is a similar strategy to the way Ford manages its Ford Pro commercial vehicle business under CEO Jim Farley’s plan to overcome Ford +.

“We’re moving all in,” Farley said in a statement Wednesday morning announcing the reorganization.

Separating operations, but keeping them inside, is half as reassuring as some Wall Street analysts are pressuring legacy carmakers such as Ford to separate their electric vehicle operations to capture the value investors are giving to some start-up electric vehicles.

Shares of Ford rose more than 4% during pre-market trading. Shares closed at $ 16.70 a share on Tuesday, down 4.9%

The EV business will be called the Ford Model e. The traditional operations will be Ford Blue. Ford said it would “operate as separate businesses, but share appropriate technologies and best practices to scale up and drive operational improvements.”

The company plans to break the financial results for the new units, as well as for its business with Ford + by 2023, giving investors more transparency in operations.

“We’re entering everything, creating separate but complementary businesses that give us start-up speed and unbridled innovation in the Ford Model E, along with Ford Blue’s industrial know-how, volume and iconic brands like Bronco that startups can only dream of Said Farley.

The move follows the first Bloomberg News report that Farley is considering whether to split its EV and traditional business, including a potential separate product. Farley said last week that Ford had no plans to suspend any of the operations.

This is breaking news. Check again for updates.

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Stock futures are rising, with oil rising close to $ 110 a barrel

US stock futures spent hours jumping between gains and losses during the night.

The main futures indices suggest a gain of 0.7% at the opening bell.

RUSSIA INVASES UKRAINE: LIVE UPDATES

Oil prices rose by more than $ 5 a barrel as Russian forces stepped up attacks on Ukrainian cities.

Oil prices have risen despite an agreement by the United States and other major governments in the International Energy Agency to release 60 million barrels of strategic reserves to stabilize supplies.

US crude jumped $ 5.60 to $ 109.05 a barrel in e-commerce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It rose $ 7.69 on Tuesday to $ 103.41.

Brent crude, based on the price of international oil, rose from $ 5.86 to $ 110.77 a barrel in London. During the previous session, it rose by $ 7 to $ 104.97.

EXXONMOBIL TO STOP OIL PRODUCTION IN RUSSIA, STOP NEW INVESTMENTS THERE IN WAR WITH UKRAINE

Speaking about the state of the Union, President Biden said he would try to mitigate the impact of higher oil prices on Americans.

“I will use every tool we have to protect American business and consumers,” Biden said.

The war between Russia and Ukraine heightens concerns about global economic growth in the face of plans by the Federal Reserve and other central banks to fight rising inflation by raising interest rates.

Investors are expecting more evidence of possible interest rate hikes when Fed Chairman Jerome Powell speaks to Congress on Wednesday.

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Traders will receive the first of this week’s labor reports. The payroll company ADP published its national employment report for February. Economists are looking for a profit of 388,000 jobs in the private sector, a reversal of the surprising loss of 301,000 jobs in January.

The government will publish the monthly report on jobs for February on Friday.

In Europe, the London FTSE added 0.6%, the German DAX rose 0.2% and the French CAC rose 0.2%.

In Asia, the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo lost 1.7%, Hang Seng in Hong Kong sank by 1.8% and China’s Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.1%.

CLICK HERE FOR FOX BUSINESS PRICES IN REAL TIME FOR CRYPTOCURRENCE PRICES

Investors transferred the money to the safe haven of government bonds, raising their market price and reducing the yield or the difference between the current price and the maturity.

Yields on 10-year bonds fell by an unusually high margin to 1.74%.

Bitcoin is trading over $ 43,000.

TickerSecurityLastChangeChange%
Me: DJIMIDDLE DOE JONUS33294.95-597.65-1.76%
SP500S&P 5004306.26-67.68-1.55%
I: COMPNASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX13532.459154-218.94-1.59%

On the Wall Street S&P 500 fell 1.5% to 4,306.26. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 1.8% to 33,294.95. The Nasdaq index fell 1.6% to 13,532.46.

JPMorgan Chase fell 3.8% and Bank of America fell 3.9%.

More than 70% of shares in the S&P 500 closed lower. Technology, industry and communications companies were among the biggest obstacles to the benchmark index.

Energy reserves have increased. Occidental Petroleum jumped 7%.

The companies cut ties with Russia. Apple said Tuesday it has stopped selling its iPhone and other popular products there. BP and Shell are withdrawing from investments in the Russian oil industry.

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Aircraft maker Boeing has said it has suspended major operations in Moscow and temporarily closed its Kyiv office. A statement said it was also suspending the supply of parts, maintenance and technical support services to Russian airlines.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Stock futures are rising, with oil rising close to $ 110 a barrel Read More »

Companies are withdrawing from Russia because of the war in Ukraine

Here’s a look at the latest big corporate announcements.

Cars

Ford announced on Tuesday that it was suspending operations in Russia. The American carmaker has a 50% stake in Ford Sollers, a joint venture that employs at least 4,000 people and is shared with Russia’s Sollers.

Ford said earlier Tuesday that it was “deeply concerned about the situation in Ukraine”, but did not go so far as to suspend operations in the three Russian cities where the company has plants: St. Petersburg, Elabuga and Naberezhnye Chelny.

Ford Sales and Service Center.

The company notes that it has “significantly reduced” its Russian operations in recent years and has “a strong contingent of Ukrainian citizens working for Ford around the world.”

General Motors said on Friday that it would suspend all exports to the country “until further notice”.

GM has no significant presence there: it sells only about 3,000 vehicles a year through 16 dealerships, according to a spokesman. That’s more than 6 million vehicles sold by the Detroit-based automaker worldwide each year.

Aviation

Boeing said on Tuesday that he would suspend support for Russian airlines.

A spokesman for the company confirmed that it was pausing “parts, maintenance and technical support services for Russian airlines” and that it had “suspended major operations in Moscow and temporarily closed our Kyiv office”.

“As the conflict continues, our teams are focused on ensuring the safety of our teammates in the region,” he added.

Airbus followed by Boeing with a similar move on Wednesday. In a statement, the aircraft manufacturer said it had “suspended maintenance services for Russian airlines, as well as the supply of spare parts for the country.”

Great technique

Apple has stopped selling its products in Russia, the company said on Tuesday.

The company said in a statement that it was “deeply concerned” about the Russian invasion. In response, it also focused on restricting access to digital services, such as Apple Pay, in Russia and restricting access to Russian state media applications outside the country.

Re: Store in the center of Moscow.  re: Store is one of Apple's largest distributors in Russia.
Facebook (FB)– parent The goal said on Monday that it would block access to Russian news outlets RT and Sputnik across the European Union.

The move comes after receiving “requests from a number of governments and the EU to take further steps with regard to Russian-controlled state media,” tweeted Nick Clegg, the company’s vice president of global affairs.

Meta also said it had imposed algorithmic restrictions on Russian state media that should prevent them from appearing prominently in consumer broadcasts.

Twitter (TWTR) similarly announced plans to “reduce the visibility and enhance” the content of Russian state media.
Big Tech is fighting against the content of the Russian state media amid growing pressure
Netflix (NFLX) also said Monday that it refuses to broadcast Russian state television channels in the country – something the streamer should do under Russian law this week.

“Given the current situation, we have no plans to add these channels to our service,” the company told CNN Business.

Year, a company that sells hardware that allows users to stream content over the internet has also promised to ban RT in Europe.

YouTube, which is owned by doogle, said over the weekend that it had blocked Russian state media in Ukraine, including RT. The video platform also said it would “significantly limit the recommendations for these channels”.

Google and YouTube have also said they will no longer allow Russian state media to run ads or generate revenue from their content.

Energy

BP said on Sunday that it plans to leave its 19.75% stake in Russia’s largest oil company, Rosneft, and their joint ventures, one of Russia’s largest foreign investments.

Equinor will also start leaving its joint ventures in Russia, the Norwegian oil and gas company announced on Monday.

“We are all deeply concerned about the invasion of Ukraine, which is a terrible obstacle to the world,” said Anders Opedale, chief executive.

The company said it had $ 1.2 billion in long-term investments in Russia at the end of 2021. It has been operating in Russia for more than 30 years and has a cooperation agreement with Rosneft.

Exxon is leaving its latest Russian project

Exxon promised on Tuesday to leave his latest remaining oil and gas project in Russia and not to invest in new developments in the country.

Sakhalin-1 is “one of the largest single international direct investments in Russia,” according to the project’s website. A subsidiary of Exxon has a 30% stake, while Rosneft also owns a stake.

With the departure of this project, Exxon will end more than a quarter of a century of business presence in Russia.

Shell follows BP from Russia as oil companies abandon Putin
Shell it is also leaving Russia and abandoning its joint ventures with Gazprom, including its participation in the dying Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.

The UK-based oil company said Monday it would dump its stake in a liquefied natural gas facility, its stake in a field development project in Western Siberia and its interest in a project to explore the Gidan Peninsula in northwestern Siberia.

“We are shocked by the loss of human lives in Ukraine, which we regret as a result of a senseless act of military aggression that threatens European security,” Shell CEO Ben van Beurden said in a statement.

Shell gas station, seen in Moscow in 2020
TotalEnergies on Tuesday also condemned Russia’s actions, saying it would no longer provide capital for new projects in the country.

The French oil giant has been doing business in Russia for 25 years and recently helped launch a major liquefied natural gas project off the Siberian coast.

Finance

The $ 1.3 trillion Norwegian sovereign wealth fund will sell shares in 47 Russian companies as well as Russian government bonds, the Norwegian prime minister said on Sunday.
Mastercard (MA) announced on Monday that it has “blocked many financial institutions” from its network as a result of anti-Russian sanctions and will “continue to work with regulators in the coming days.”
visa (V) also said on Tuesday that it is taking steps to comply with the measures as they develop.

Media and entertainment

DirectTV sever ties with RT, Russian-backed television network infamous for promoting Russian President Vladimir Putin’s program.

A spokesman for the US satellite operator told CNN Business on Tuesday that it was already reconsidering whether to renew the agreement to transport the store, which was due to expire later this year. Russia’s war against Ukraine hastened its decision, according to the spokesman.

Disney it also suspended the release of its theatrical films in Russia, citing “the unprovoked invasion of Ukraine”.

The entertainment giant had a number of films that will be released in Russia in the coming months. These include Marvel’s “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” on May 5 and Pixar’s “Lightyear” on June 16.

A buyer opens an umbrella with Disney princesses at the Central Children's Store on Lubyanka Square in Moscow in 2017.

“We will make future business decisions based on the evolving situation,” said a Disney spokesman.

'Batman' withdrawn from Russia
WarnerMedia said Monday it would suspend the launch of Batman in Russia.

The film is expected to be one of the biggest blockbusters of the year and will be released in most countries by Warner Bros., which, like CNN, is a division of WarnerMedia.

A company spokesman said the decision was made “in light of the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine” and that the company hopes for a “quick and peaceful solution to this tragedy”.

Delivery

Maersk and Mediterranean shipping company MSC both suspend cargo reservations with Russia.

“As the stability and security of our operations are already directly and indirectly affected by sanctions, Maersk’s new reservations to and from Russia will be suspended, except for food, medical and humanitarian supplies,” the Danish-based company said in a statement. in Tuesday.

“We are deeply concerned about how the crisis continues to escalate in Ukraine,” the company added.

MSC, a Swiss container company, said its own shutdown began on Tuesday and will include “all access areas, including the Baltic Sea, the Black Sea and Russia’s Far East”.

– Michelle To, Chris Isidore, Vanessa Jurkevich, Paul P. Murphy, Mark Thompson, Vasco Cotovio, Peter Valdes-Dapena, Frank Palotta, Brian Fung, Oliver Darcy, Jordan Valinski and Chris Liakos contributed to this report.

Companies are withdrawing from Russia because of the war in Ukraine Read More »

The Russian ruble is falling to a new low in Moscow, remaining even weaker abroad

Coins of Russian rubles are seen in front of the US dollar bill shown in this illustration, made on February 24, 2022. REUTERS / Dado Ruvic / Illustration / Files

March 2 – Roll fell to a record low in Moscow of $ 110 a dollar on Wednesday, and the stock market remained closed as Russia’s financial system faltered under Western sanctions over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

The roll was 7.3% weaker during the day at 108.60 against the dollar at 09:41 GMT in trade in Moscow, previously reaching 110.0, the lowest level of all time. Since the beginning of the year, it has lost about a third of its value against the dollar.

On Wednesday, it fell 7.1% to trade at 120.50 euros.

For the third day in a row, the ruble was weaker outside Russia, trading at $ 115 per dollar on the EBS e-commerce platform, but still above the lowest level of 120 reached on Monday.

Russia responded by doubling interest rates to 20% and telling companies to convert 80% of their foreign currency earnings into the domestic market as the central bank or the CBR, which is now under Western sanctions, stopped foreign exchange interventions.

JP Morgan said it was preparing for a deep recession in Russia and re-evaluating its regional macro-forecasts.

“The latest CBR measures have completely changed the picture,” said JP Morgan.

“Russia’s large current account surplus could absorb large capital outflows, but with accompanying CBR and SWIFT sanctions, in addition to existing restrictions, Russia’s export earnings are likely to be disrupted and capital outflows likely to be immediate. .

Several Russian banks have been banned by the global financial network SWIFT, which facilitates transfers between banks.

Moscow called its actions in Ukraine a “special operation” it said was not intended to occupy territory but to destroy the military capabilities of its southern neighbor and capture dangerous nationalists.

As households and businesses in Russia rushed to convert the falling ruble into foreign currency, banks raised interest rates on foreign currency deposits.

Russia’s largest lender Sberbank (SBER.MM) offers to pay 4% for deposits up to $ 1,000, while the largest private lender Alfa Bank offers 8% for quarterly dollar deposits. For deposits in rubles Sberbank offers 20% annual yield.

Sberbank said on Wednesday that it was leaving almost all European markets, blaming large cash flows and threats to its staff and assets after the ECB ordered the closure of its European division. Read more

A weak ruble will hit Russia’s standard of living and inflate already high inflation, while Western sanctions are expected to lead to a shortage of basic goods and services such as cars or flights. Read more

Reuters report; Edited by Andrew Havens and Edmund Blair

Our standards: ‘ principles of trust.

The Russian ruble is falling to a new low in Moscow, remaining even weaker abroad Read More »

Mutilated by sanctions, Russia’s leading bank is leaving Europe

  • Sberbank is withdrawing from the European market following an order from the ECB
  • He says he faces cash flows, threats to staff and property
  • He says he has enough resources to pay all depositors
  • Net profit for 2021 increased by 64% to a record 1.25 trillion rubles

MOSCOW, March 2 – Russia’s largest lender, Sberbank (SBER.MM), is leaving almost all European markets, blaming large cash flows and threats to its staff and assets following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Western sanctions.

The move seemed inevitable after the European Central Bank (ECB) ordered the closure of the bank’s European division, warning that it was facing failure due to the accumulation of deposits caused by the invasion, which Moscow calls a “special operation”. Read more

The news came on Wednesday, when state-controlled Sberbank reported record annual profits for 2021.

The bank said it was no longer able to supply liquidity to European subsidiaries following an order from Russia’s central bank, which is seeking to keep foreign currency. But he said the capital and assets were enough to pay off all depositors.

The move underscores the pressure some Russian businesses are facing from the West’s unprecedented steps to isolate Moscow, including sanctions against its central bank and the exclusion of some of its banks from the global SWIFT payment system.

Russia’s central bank governor Elvira Nabiulina said on Wednesday that the country’s economy is facing an extreme situation and she is doing everything possible to ensure that the financial system can cope with any shock. Read more

“In the current situation, Sberbank has decided to leave the European market,” the statement said. “The group’s subsidiaries face unusual cash flows and threats to the safety of its employees and branches.”

Sberbank had European assets worth 13 billion euros ($ 14.4 billion) as of December 31, 2020 and operations in countries including Austria, Croatia, Germany and Hungary, among others.

It says European subsidiaries have experienced a liquidity crisis following the imposition of sanctions, which led to a loss of control over these units in the first quarter of the year.

In November, Sberbank said it planned to finalize the sale of operations in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Hungary, Serbia and Slovenia in 2021 in a deal worth about 500m euros.

Slovenian bank NLB (NLBR.LJ) has said it is acquiring Slovenian business.

Sberbank did not provide up-to-date information on other potential transactions.

The exit does not affect Sberbank’s business in Switzerland, which it says continues to operate as usual.

PROFIT JUMP

Sberbank’s net profit for 2021 jumped 64% year-on-year to 1.25 trillion rubles ($ 12.38 billion). The return on equity for the year is 24.2%, and net interest income amounts to 1.8 trillion rubles.

CEO Herman Gref, who has been silent since the crisis unfolded, described the results as “exceptional”, but said the focus was now on “the new challenges facing the Russian economy and financial sector”.

The bank canceled its call to the investor to discuss the results.

The Moscow Stock Exchange stopped trading in shares and tried to prevent the outflow of capital from Russian assets, but Sberbank’s depository receipts in London fell by more than 90% on Wednesday to 1.7 cents.

($ 1 = 100.9700 rubles)

(1 dollar = 0.9018 euros)

Reuters Report Edited by Clarence Fernandez and Mark Potter

Our standards: ‘ principles of trust.

Mutilated by sanctions, Russia’s leading bank is leaving Europe Read More »