Russia’s Gazprombank explores options for Swiss business, including sale

ZURICH, July 8 (Reuters) – Russia’s Gazprombank is discovering strategic possibilities for its Swiss business, like a achievable sale of all or pieces of it, Zurich-based Gazprombank Switzerland explained on Friday.

Gazprombank (GZPRI.MM) is a single of the final remaining channels for financing trade flows concerning Russia and Switzerland due to the fact the other big Russian banking companies are subject to sanctions over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

Its Swiss business, which employs about 80 persons, is mostly active in trade and export financing, such as supporting Swiss industrial teams finance exports to Japanese Europe. It also finances the extraction, transportation and processing of raw supplies from Russia to Western Europe for commodity traders.

“The Lender at present expects to conclude the strategic evaluate process – such as locating an trader if such possibility is pursued – by the end of the third quarter of 2022,” it said.

Based mostly on fairness of about 200 million Swiss francs, the lender could be valued at all-around 150 million Swiss francs ($154 million), just one field source, who declined to be named, said.

Feasible potential buyers for areas or all of Gazprombank could be fiscal investors or other banks, a Gazprombank Switzerland spokesperson stated, declining to comment on a valuation.

Commodity traders could also be intrigued in Gazprombank Switzerland, the market source explained to Reuters, and the initially probable potential buyers have by now expressed fascination.

“It is the accountability of the Board of Administrators to consistently review the strategic orientation of a lender and to realign the business product if vital,” the spokesperson mentioned when asked whether or not existing or opportunity worldwide sanctions had brought on the strategic review.

Requested about any doable influence from the Swiss Economical Industry Supervisory Authority FINMA, the lender spokesperson said: “The initiated tactic review is in the bank’s personal desire and not due to exterior strain.”

Gazprombank Switzerland was strongly capitalised and operationally perfectly positioned, the spokesperson added.

In accordance to the latest publicly accessible data, Gazprombank Switzerland created a gain of 3 million francs in the first fifty percent of 2021, down from 4 million in the year-back period.

Gazprombank is not the only Swiss subsidiary of a main Russian lender that may possibly shortly change fingers.

FINMA has eased the restrictions against Sberbank (Switzerland) AG (SBER.MM). This would allow for the lender to cut down its harmony sheet in see of a probable sale or improve of ownership, the watchdog mentioned this thirty day period. examine additional

($1 = .9744 Swiss francs)

Reporting by Oliver Hirt, Crafting by Michael Shields, Editing by Paul Carrel and Alexander Smith

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