British MPs urge global banks to close Russian offices ‘without delay’
MPs are urging major banks to shut their Moscow offices, after campaigners accused them of “quietly profiting” off their Russian operations whileother industries sever ties with the country.
Some of the City’s largest lenders including JP Morgan, Deutsche Bank, HSBC and Credit Suisse collectively employ thousands of staff who offer banking services to large companies and wealthy clients doing business in Russia.
While banks have had to drop services for Russian businesses and oligarchs in line with EU, US and UK sanctions, MPs said lenders had a moral duty to exit the country to put further financial pressure on Moscow as theRussian military continues to assault Ukraine.
“It’s not particularly shocking to see that major City or European banks have a presence in Russia,” the senior Labour MP Dame Margaret Hodge said. “But what is shocking that we have not heard from the banks what they plan to do about it.”
A number of companies have pulled their operations and services in Russia since its invasion of Ukraine. These include:
Retailers
Travel
Carmakers
Drinks industry
Tech, media and entertainment
Luxury goods companies
Manufacturing
She said she recognised that financial institutions already had a “major role to play” in enforcing sanctions that are meant to cripple the Russian economy and force President Vladimir Putin to withdraw troops from Ukraine.
However, Hodge said banks should go further. “While they may not have to leave Russia yet according to the law, there is a moral dimension to this and I fully expect that these banks will do the right thing and start severing ties with Russia and the Russian economy.”
The comments will put further pressure on lenders to review their Russian footprint, regardless of the size of their
Read more on theguardian.com
