Western increased the pressure on Raiffeisen Bank because of work in russia

Pressure on Raiffeisen Bank to loosen its ties with russia is growing, both from the US and from the European Central Bank.

Raiffeisen, like Austria, is at the forefront of the United States' global effort to isolate russia by tightening banking sanctions and cutting off access to Western goods.

The company, as before, is under direct international pressure, which requires it to leave the axis. And this despite the termination of the operation to purchase a stake in the Austrian construction company Strabag, which belonged to the russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska.

Washington's threat to punish Raiffeisen has not been withdrawn, and it continues to closely monitor the bank, its relationship with russia and any potential sanctions violations.

In particular, Washington has the right to fine banks that violate sanctions or disconnect them from the dollar financial system. Earlier, it hit French bank BNP Paribas when it was fined $9 billion in 2014 for violating US sanctions on Sudan, Iran and Cuba.

The threat of the US Treasury Department to knock the ground out from under Raiffeisen's feet continues to cause deep anxiety among its management. Such a move would be "fatal," in part because large corporations that use it for international payments would leave.

The US authorities are aware of the catastrophic consequences such a move could have for Raiffeisen, as well as how it could affect the financial system as a whole, and are acting cautiously. That is why Washington would like European regulators to force the bank to loosen ties with russia.

Source: Reuters