Asset portfolios sold
Sberbank Europe can avoid bankruptcy
05/03/2022 10:23 p.m
Sberbank Europe is in trouble after sanctions against Russia. At the beginning of March, the supervisory authorities prohibited business operations with immediate effect. Almost exclusively German private customers are affected. The bank can now still avert insolvency.
The European subsidiary of the Russian Sberbank is being wound up in an orderly manner against the background of the threat of EU sanctions. The Vienna-based Sberbank Europe AG announced that insolvency was averted by the sale of the asset portfolio. According to the institute, the savings deposits will be repaid in full.
At the beginning of March, the Austrian Financial Market Authority (FMA) ordered the bank to cease operations. The FMA also appointed a state administrator. The reason was an imminent failure of the bank. According to Sberbank Europe, the Austrian deposit insurance paid out a total of EUR 926 million to customers in Europe.
In Germany, the bank had attracted investors under the Sberbank Direct brand with comparatively high interest rates. The bank has now repaid these 926 million euros to Einlagensicherung Austria, it said. Savings deposits that go beyond the secured maximum amount of 100,000 euros would now also be paid out to customers. “Sberbank Europe AG is hereby continuing the orderly settlement,” said the institute.
The EU Commission wanted to send its proposal for a sixth package of sanctions against Russia to the member states of the European Union that evening, which, according to dpa information, should also contain measures against Sberbank. The package was expected to be presented publicly in the European Parliament on Wednesday morning. Sberbank is majority owned by the Russian state.