Major Russian bank winds down Swiss business – top official

Gazprombank will cease operations in Switzerland after “a strategic review of various options,” Chairman of the Board of Directors, Ivan Dun, said in a statement on Monday.

“The decision is the result of an in-depth strategy analysis and is being taken in close consultation with the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority [FINMA],” he clarified.

Gazprombank (Switzerland) was one of the last remaining institutions for financing trade between Russia and Switzerland after other major Russian banks became subject to Western sanctions.

Existing business relationships will be wound down or referred to external partners in the coming months, Gazprombank said.

In March, the Association of Swiss Bankers excluded Gazprombank and Sberbank from the Swiss system. In July, the Zurich-based bank announced a launch of a strategic review and plans to sell its subsidiary.

The main focus of the bank was trade and export finance, including transportation and processing of raw materials from Russia to Western Europe for commodity traders. EU companies used Gazprombank to pay for energy supplies. The bank, which employs about 80 people, also assisted Swiss industrial groups in financing exports to Eastern Europe.

The lender had been operating in Switzerland since 1966 and under the Gazprombank (Switzerland) name since 2009.

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