The Russian banking sector is dominated by large, state-owned banks, with the top five banks controlling over 50 percent of assets.
At one time, there were over 3,000 small and regional banks, but economic pressures, regulatory actions, and insolvency have led to significant consolidation within the sector. State-owned banks have been the primary beneficiaries of the Russian government’s efforts to inject short- and long-term liquidity into the market to mitigate the economic downturn. Russia’s largest domestic banks include Sberbank (controlled by the Central Bank); VTB Bank (state-owned, including subsidiaries VTB24, VTB Capital, and Bank of Moscow); Gazprombank (subsidiary of state-owned Gazprom); Rosselkhozbank (state-owned agricultural bank); and Alfa-Bank (private commercial bank). All of the above state-owned banks (except for Alfa-Bank) were included in the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Ukraine-related sanctions list. The sanctions significantly limited access of these organizations to the U.S. financial markets, as August 2017 legislation prohibits the conduct by U.S. persons or persons within the U.S. of all transactions in, provision of financing for, and other dealings in new debt of longer than 14 days.
Russia’s largest private commercial banks, in addition to Alfa-Bank, include Russian Standard, Moscow Credit Bank, Bank St. Petersburg, and Binbank.
The largest U.S. and European investment banks operating in Russia include Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, JPMorgan, Barclay’s, Deutsche Bank, and UBS. The largest foreign-owned commercial banking institutions in Russia include Raiffeisen Bank (Austria), Unicredit Bank (Italy), Citibank (U.S.), HBSC (U.K.), and Deutsche Bank (Germany). In 2013, new laws were enacted forbidding foreign banks from establishing branches in Russia, permitting only subsidiaries to be created.
Many U.S. government international financing programs to support U.S. exports have halted consideration of transactions in Russia in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and annexation of Crimea. This includes both the U.S. Export-Import Bank (EX-IM) and the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC). Prior to these suspensions, assistance had come in the form of working capital loans, loan guarantees, insurance, lease financing, grants for major projects, and in some cases, financing for the foreign buyers of U.S.-manufactured products. Other sources of international trade and project financing in Russia include regional development banks.
The Small Business Administration (SBA) offers financing packages specifically targeted to assist U.S. exporters expand overseas and fund export transaction costs or financing for the export of goods or services. SBA programs can provide the liquidity needed to accept new orders, enter new markets, and compete more effectively in the international marketplace. Some of SBA’s programs include Export Express Loan Program, Export Working Capital, International Trade Loans, and the SBA and EX-IM Bank Co-Guarantee program. For more information, please go to the SBA website.
