PARIS, April 1 (Reuters) – RCI Banque, the financing subsidiary of the Renault RENA.PA group, estimated its exposure to Russia at 109 million euros on Friday and indicated, like its parent company, that it was considering its options on this market in the context of the war in Ukraine. nL5N2VQ6E8
The amount announced, which does not fall within the 2.2 billion euros of Russian assets for which Renault will make a provision in the first half, corresponds to RCI’s 30% stake in the Russian bank RN Bank (92 million euros), to its 100% of RNL Leasing (two million) and to intra-group receivables (15 million).
RCI Banque added that it was evaluating the options available to it with the other shareholders of RN Bank and that it too would have to recognize in its next financial results an accounting charge corresponding to the value of its Russian assets, which it is said to be confident of being able to absorb.
The most exposed automaker to Russia, Renault announced last week to suspend production at its Moscow plant with immediate effect and to consider the future of its controlling stake in Russia’s leading automaker, Avtovaz.
Russia, Renault’s second market on which he had been betting for more than ten years, was to play an important role in the recovery of the diamond group.
But the manufacturer was forced to announce the suspension of its activities on the spot, with the approval of its main shareholders, the French State and Nissan 7201.T, for fear in particular that the multiplication of criticisms on a maintenance in Russia would not comes to tarnish its brand image.
(Gilles Guillaume, edited by Bertrand Boucey)