Russia’s Sberbank Halts Ukraine Retail Lending Amid Crisis
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Ukraine’s deadly clashes prompted OAO Sberbank to stop offering loans to individuals in the country less than one year after it opened 50 branches there, Chief Executive Officer Herman Gref said.
Russia’s biggest bank, which closed three branches in downtown Kiev this week as violent clashes killed at least 77, has also witnessed a “run on” its automatic teller machines in the country, Gref told reporters in Moscow today. The hryvnia, which is managed by Ukraine’s central bank, plunged almost 8 percent against the dollar this year and non-deliverable forward rates show it will slump another 11 percent in three months.