City’s largest lenders accused of ‘quietly profiting’ amid Russia-Ukraine conflict

major banks of “quietly profiting” off their Russian operations, as many industries sever ties with the country. Accordingly, MPs are urging these firms to shut their offices in Moscow. “It’s not particularly shocking to see that major City or European banks have a presence in Russia. But what is shocking is that we have not heard from the banks what they plan to do about it,” senior Labour MP Dame Margaret Hodge said.
The minister added that while financial institutions already play a “major role” in enforcing sanctions against Russia, banks should go further in crippling the Russian economy and forcing President Vladimir Putin to withdraw troops from Ukraine. “While they may not have to leave Russia yet according to the law, there is a moral dimension to this and I fully expect that these banks will do the right thing and start severing ties with Russia and the Russian economy,” she said.
The comments put further pressure on the City’s largest lenders who collectively employ thousands of staff who offer banking services to large Russian companies and wealthy clients from the transcontinental nation. For instance, HSBC, headquartered in London, has about 200 staff in the country, while JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs have 160 and 80 employees there respectively. Paris-based Société Générale employs about 12,000 staff in Russia, through its subsidiary Rosbank, while around 1,700 individuals are employed in the country by Deutsche Bank.
Calling for a complete withdrawal of international banks from Russia, Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesperson, Layla Moran, said: “For too long, too many western companies have bent over backwards to help facilitate the Kremlin’s oppression, Putin’s war chest and the lifestyle of his oligarchs.” “It’s time to cut Putin’s regime off for good,” she added. “Western banks must pull out of Russia without delay.”