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Swiss banks charging Russians for frozen accounts | Swiss banks charging Russians for frozen accounts |
(about 5 hours later) | |
Nearly $9 billion in private funds is blocked in the country's institutions due to sanctions | |
Some Swiss financial institutions have begun charging their Russian clients fees on frozen accounts, sometimes accruing interest payments years in advance, Vedomosti reported on Tuesday, citing bankers and a brokerage firm. | |
Commissions on the blocked assets of Russian citizens are charged years in advance, an auditing company source told the outlet, citing an employee at a Swiss bank. | |
“The idea is that there is an account, it needs to be serviced, and it doesn’t matter that a person cannot use the banking service, in fact it is still provided,” one of the banks explained. | “The idea is that there is an account, it needs to be serviced, and it doesn’t matter that a person cannot use the banking service, in fact it is still provided,” one of the banks explained. |
Two sources in law firms confirmed to Vedomosti that they’d heard of cases of Swiss banks charging fees on frozen funds, but not of them accruing interest years in advance. | Two sources in law firms confirmed to Vedomosti that they’d heard of cases of Swiss banks charging fees on frozen funds, but not of them accruing interest years in advance. |
“It seems counterintuitive, but nowadays anything is possible,” a source told the outlet. | |
PostFinance, a financial services company and a unit of Swiss Post, confirmed to the news outlet that it does not charge commissions on seized or frozen Russian funds. A number of other financial institutions, including Julius Baer, UBS, Zurich Cantonal Bank, Vontobel and Pictet Group, did not respond to requests from Vedomosti. | |
By slapping interest payments on Russian assets, banks are passing on to their clients the significantly increased costs of compliance procedures, and possibly a premium for the risk of fines being imposed on them, Donat Podniek, partner at KPMG in Russia and the CIS, told Forbes Russia. | By slapping interest payments on Russian assets, banks are passing on to their clients the significantly increased costs of compliance procedures, and possibly a premium for the risk of fines being imposed on them, Donat Podniek, partner at KPMG in Russia and the CIS, told Forbes Russia. |
Under pressure from Western regulators, Swiss banks are gradually shedding their Russian clients; however, they continue to serve some large customers, economists say. A number of major Swiss banks such as UBS and a Swiss subsidiary of the US investment bank JP Morgan continue to work with Russians and even take on new clients, according to Sergey Ishkov, co-founder of the fin-tech firm Skyfort. | Under pressure from Western regulators, Swiss banks are gradually shedding their Russian clients; however, they continue to serve some large customers, economists say. A number of major Swiss banks such as UBS and a Swiss subsidiary of the US investment bank JP Morgan continue to work with Russians and even take on new clients, according to Sergey Ishkov, co-founder of the fin-tech firm Skyfort. |
Switzerland has an estimated 7.7 billion Swiss francs ($8.81 billion) of Russian assets frozen in its financial institutions, the latest estimates from the country’s national agency overseeing sanctions showed. | Switzerland has an estimated 7.7 billion Swiss francs ($8.81 billion) of Russian assets frozen in its financial institutions, the latest estimates from the country’s national agency overseeing sanctions showed. |
The current estimate includes properties and luxury cars belonging to sanctioned Russians, as well as profits from cash deposits, bonds, and shares. | The current estimate includes properties and luxury cars belonging to sanctioned Russians, as well as profits from cash deposits, bonds, and shares. |
For more stories on economy & finance visit RT's business section | For more stories on economy & finance visit RT's business section |
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