Russia’s third largest bank Gazprombank, affiliated with the natural gas giant Gazprom, will ramp up the commission fee for handling US dollars on its corporate accounts to 12%, according to Kommersant.
As followed by bne IntelliNews, Gazprombank is the only large unsanctioned Russian bank due to its role in the handling of the international trade settlements. In autumn 2023 amid the ruble weakening, Russia has reintroduced currency controls for exporters and is reportedly closely monitoring large-scale Fx deals on the domestic market.
The analysts surveyed by Kommersant see the US dollar settling commission as “prohibitive” and believe that the bank wants to drive its clients to transfer the toxic sanctioned currency into other banks, to convert it as soon as possible, or switch to non-dollar settlements.
For now, Gazprombank does not charge commission for the handling and storage of euros, and the commission for other currencies (Swiss francs, Swedish krona, Japanese yen) will remain at 1.5%. While other banks charge much smaller fees for US dollar accounts, opening new currency accounts has become virtually impossible, according to the survey of the market participants by Kommersant.
Despite Gazprombank not being sanctioned, at the beginning of 2023 US banks such as JP Morgan Chase Bank and Bank of New York Mellon stopped servicing GPB's dollar correspondent accounts.
Don’t just follow the news—understand it.
The IntelliNews PRO service includes access to reports, exclusive market data, and more news that decision-makers care about. Stay ahead of the market with IntelliNews PRO.
Sign Up NowRelated Articles
Russian analyst warns US financial threats against Iran's partners risk dollar
Threatening to cut countries that trade with Iran out of the global financial system would damage confidence in the US dollar, particularly given the exposure of China and Oman, Russian economist ... more
Canada revives plan to build LNG project in Quebec
First Nations group Kino Aski and Marinvest Energy Canada are reviving plans to build a major LNG project in Quebec, Kino Aski announced on August 17. The project would see the development of an ... more
Russia’s second domestic ice-class LNG carrier departs on Northern Sea Route
Russia’s second domestically-built Arc-7 ice class tanker has begun transiting the Northern Sea Route, Reuters reported on August 14 citing data from the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG). ... more