Ukraine has promised the IMF to ease sanctions against the banks with Russian state capital as soon as it becomes available.
“Recent events caused a strong negative public reaction to the activities in Ukraine of the Russian state banks. In the interests of national security, we have imposed restrictions on the operations of these banks with their parent agencies and report such action to the Executive Board of the IMF in accordance with decision No.144-(52/51)”, — stated in the letter of intent, which is attached to the Memorandum of cooperation between the IMF and Ukraine.
“We drop these restrictions, as soon as the security situation allows us to do” — promises the government in this letter.
We will remind that on March 16 the President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko enacted NSDC decision on sanctions against the banks with Russian capital. The sanctions came into effect on 23 March.
Under the sanctions were Sberbank, Ukreximbank, VTB Bank and BM VS Bank. The sanctions imply a ban on any operations in favor of the parent banks, including interbank loans, deposits, purchase of securities, prohibition of dividend payments and other operations.
March 27 it became known that a consortium of investors consisting of Norvik banka’s Latvian and Belarusian private company acquires 100% of shares of Ukrainian “daughter” of Sberbank. The main buyer of the Ukrainian subsidiary Bank Sberbank of Russia will perform the son of the owner of the oil company RussNeft Mikhail Gutseriev said. Thus , the NBU has not yet received official notification from the prospective investors on purchase of Ukrainian “daughter” of Sberbank. The national Bank also has not received the relevant documents for the acquisition of substantial participation.
Earlier, the head of the second assets of the Russian Bank VTB Andrey Kostin said that VTB wants to have a really good deal for its subsidiary in Ukraine by the end of the year to determine whether to sell the subsidiary Bank or to continue to reduce its business.
