Raiffeisen Bank International is the most prominent Western bank in Russia.
- Raiffeisen Bank International is the official sponsor of the Ice Hockey World Cup. At the same time, it is the most significant western bank operating in Russia.
- The Austrian bank’s list of concerns extends beyond the war of aggression waged by Russia.
- Raiffeisen Bank announced in March that it aims to break away from its ties to Russia.
The yellow-black logo shines on the sides of Tampere’s WC bowl. The same logo can also be found on advertising signs, walls and posters of the World Hockey Championships.
It is the Austrian Raiffeisen Bank International, which is the official sponsor of the World Cup.
In the past, it has also been seen as a sponsor in the Alpine Skiing and Ski Jumping World Cups.
Currently, Raiffaisen Bank is also the most significant western bank operating in Russia.
The bank’s name has appeared in the headlines of the Financial Times, among others, several times since the beginning of the war of aggression against Russia.
Raiffeisen Bank made the best result in its history last year, which can partly be explained by the fact that almost half of the money traffic between Russia and the rest of the world passed through it.
So what is an Austrian bank doing in Russia? Normal banking, says a Finnish source who knows banking there well. It is possible that it seeks – to avoid reputational damage – to operate in such a way that it does not serve sanctioned companies and individuals.
Reputational damage has still occurred.
The most morally questionable fact is that Raiffeisen Bank is during the war of aggression against Russia granted relief to Russian soldiers’ credit terms.
According to the source, it is not out of the question that the bank would have had to do so under duress, i.e. as dictated by the central bank or regulations.
Iltalehti asked the IIHF about the cooperation between it and Raiffeisen Bank International. Questions about the IIHF were not answered.
“Sponsor of War”
The Raiffeisen Bank International yellow logo can also be seen in Nokia Arena’s courtside advertisements during the World Cup. PASI LEISMA
Unlike the French banking group Société Générale, Raiffeisen Bank has not been able to break away from its ties to Russia during the war.
Financial Times wrote last year that Raiffeisen Bank was stuck in Russia when the war broke out. It has more than four million customers in Russia. Of the Western banks, it was in the most difficult situation, because with the departure from Russia, the losses could increase to more than 20 billion euros.
In recent months, the pressure has grown even more when Russia’s atrocities have continued in Ukraine.
At the beginning of March, the Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg told Der Standard in an interview that Raiffeisen Bank must make the Russia decision independently.
Less than a month later, Ukraine’s anti-corruption agency declared Raiffeisen Bank “International sponsor of the war in Ukraine”.
On March 30, Raiffeisen Bank said it was working to find a buyer to buy all of its banking operations in Russia this year. Managing director Johann Strobl said he understood the seriousness of the war.
Raiffeisen Bank also has banking operations in Ukraine.
From the kohl list
Raiffeisen Bank’s prize box was given to the best players of the matches in the preliminary round of the World Cup. PASI LEISMA
Controversies have surrounded the Austrian bank before.
In 2019 it were combined to the Russian money laundering scandal. A year later, Raiffeisen Bank issued bonds to the government of Belarus for 1.4 billion euros.
In August 2021, demonstrations started in the capital, Minki. The opposition condemned the country’s presidential election fraud, when Alexander Lukashenko was once again allowed to continue as the autocratic president of Belarus.
The protests made headlines around the world as several people were injured, disappeared or even died. About 25,000 protesters were arrested.
Raiffeisen Bank owns one of the largest banks in Belarus, Priorbank, which it bought from Belarusian individuals.
In addition to billboards and signs, Raiffeisen Bank’s logo has also been seen on the hands of hockey players in Tampere and Riga. After each match of the World Cup preliminary series, the best players of the teams were awarded with a prize box from Raiffeisen Bank. The box contained a pen and a wallet.
Sources: Bloomberg, Financial Times, EastCham