The National Bank noted that it has repeatedly called on the international banking and insurance sector to stop business activities on the territory of the Russian Federation and Belarus.

Against the background of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, the NBU publicly appealed to the management of international banking groups with a call to implement their previous statements and withdraw from the market of the aggressor country.

As stated in the official position of the National Bank of Ukraine, the strengthening of sanctions and external pressure on the aggressor’s economy is one of the priorities of international activity.

“The sanctions imposed against the Russian Federation and its ally – the Republic of Belarus – by the countries participating in the sanctions coalition, thanks to the active position of Ukraine, are unprecedented. However, given that the military actions continue, we continue to look for new ways of increasing the sanctions pressure on the aggressor in cooperation with international partners.” , – said the statement of the NBU.

The National Bank noted that it has repeatedly called on the international banking and insurance sector to stop business activities on the territory of the Russian Federation and Belarus.

Appeals were sent to Raiffeisen Bank International, Intensa Sanpaolo, OTP Bank, ING Bank, Credit Agricole.

“In the eleventh month of the war, the National Bank notes the lack of progress on the way of making final decisions regarding the exit from the Russian market. We consider this unacceptable. The latest information that appeared in the public field is about the provision of preferential conditions by banks that are part of international financial groups lending for the participants of the so-called “special military operation” is another evidence that the statements that were made differ from the actual state of affairs,” the NBU noted.

The National Bank emphasizes that international banking groups remain active participants in the banking market of the Russian Federation, competing to increase loan portfolios.

“In their materials, the banks openly use the names “LPR” and “DNR” as separate entities… We publicly once again appeal to the leadership of international banking groups – by staying in Russia, you have chosen to support the aggressor,” the NBU said.

The war in Ukraine and the decline of the Russian economy:

On February 24, 2022, the day of the Russian Federation’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia’s richest people lost a total of $46.6 billion. As of the end of 2022, their losses approached 100 billion dollars.

After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, S&P downgraded Russia’s credit rating from BB+ to CCC-. On March 8, 2022, S&P lowered the credit ratings of 52 Russian companies.

On June 27, 2022, Russia declared sovereign debt default for the first time in a hundred years.

The war in Ukraine set Russia’s economy back for four years in just one quarter. The invasion was the cause of one of the longest recessions in the history of the Russian Federation.

As of August 31, 80% of Russians had no savings.

According to the results of September, Russia’s income from oil exports decreased to $15.3 billion, which was the lowest figure during the year.

On December 5, 2022, EU oil sanctions against Russia entered into force.

On December 19, 2022, Russian shares showed the world’s largest annual decline.

On December 21, 2022, Roscosmos recognized record losses.

On January 10, 2023, Russia recognized a record increase in the state budget deficit.