“These are not sanctions, these are US recommendations. Bank Intesa has not said it will follow these recommendations. There are banks that have said yes to this. We did not say anything, we will continue our work,” the head of Intesa’s Russian branch Antonio Fallico told the TASS news agency on Wednesday.
Fallico added that the bank will also participate in the privatization of Russian state-owned companies. “I can’t say which ones. It’s privileged information,” the Chairman said.
A number of European banks have decided to stay away from Russia’s $3 billion sovereign bond sale, unwilling to upset US and EU authorities.
Despite there being no direct restriction to place Russian bonds, the Financial Times, quoting sources familiar with the situation, reported that Brussels is asking European banks to skip Russia’s planned sovereign bond issue, as it could undermine the sanctions regime.
The warning from the EU came after Washington urged major banks not to bid on a potentially lucrative but “politically risky” Russian bond deal.
“It is essential that private companies – in the US, EU and around the world – understand that Russia will remain a high-risk market so long as its actions to destabilize Ukraine continue,” the State Department said in a statement to the Wall Street Journal. It also warned of “reputational” risks of returning “to business as usual with Russia.”
According to Bloomberg, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, Wells Fargo and Morgan Stanley have chosen not to bid. Goldman Sachs was interested in the bond deal, but changed its mind after Washington’s recommendations.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the move by US authorities was no longer pressure, but intimidating the banks.
Article source: https://www.rt.com/business/338770-italian-bank-russia-bond/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS
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