China’s share in Russia’s banking sector has quadrupled since the beginning of the NCO – Kommersant
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Chinese banks have lent billions of dollars to Russian lenders as Western financial institutions shut down their operations in the country after the outbreak of hostilities in Ukraine, according to the British newspaper Financial Times (FT) research. According to the publication, in 14 months – from February 2022 to March 2023 – China’s share in the Russian banking sector quadrupled.
From the FT analysis, it follows that the main creditors of Russian banks are Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Bank of China, China Construction Bank and Agricultural Bank of China. From February last year to March this year, they increased their assets in Russia from $2.2 billion to $9.7 billion. sanctions. At the same time, Chinese banks refused to make official comments.
The FT notes that the actions of Chinese banks are part of Beijing’s efforts to promote the yuan as an alternative global currency to the dollar. At the end of 2022, the volume of trade between China and Russia in yuan reached a record high of $185 billion. Before the start of the military conflict between Russia and Ukraine, over 60% of payments for exports were made in euros and dollars, the yuan accounted for less than 1%. From the data of the Bank of Russia cited by the FT, it follows that since February last year, the share of payments in “unfriendly” currencies has decreased to less than half, while the share of the yuan has grown to 16%.
In June 2023, the European Central Bank urged banks from eurozone countries that continue to operate in Russia should leave the Russian market as soon as possible. One of the few Western banks remaining in Russia, the Austrian Raiffeisenbank continues to operate in Russia, but since March 2023 it has been reducing its presence and is considering potential options for exiting the Russian business. In total, from February 2022 to March 2023, according to the FT, the share of Russian banking assets owned by foreigners decreased from 6.2% to 4.9%.
On the difficulties of foreign banks in Russia – in the material “Kommersant” “Years Without Plans”.
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