VTB says U.S. sanctions won't affect clients' accounts, deposits; no restrictions on forex exchanges

MOSCOW. Feb 25 (Interfax) - The sanctions imposed by the United States on a number of Russian banks will not affect the accounts and deposits of clients of VTB , including those denominated in U.S. dollars and euros, the bank said in a statement.

All accounts remain active, and the funds placed with VTB are accessible both at offline offices and remotely. They can still be used in full and are available for all operations in Russian territory, it said.

All VTB cards, including Visa and Mastercard, are operable with retail and customer services establishments, as well as cash machines, on the entire territory of Russia. The U.S. restrictions would only affect the use of VTB cards outside of Russia, and therefore, VTB recommends its clients currently staying abroad withdraw cash from their VTB cards or make payments with cards of other banks.

Acquiring terminals and cash offices of retail and customer services establishments serviced by VTB are operating as usual, it said.

Clients can withdraw cash at any cash machine in Russia, VTB has not restricted foreign currency exchanges, and its clients still have the opportunity to open accounts in various foreign currencies, it said.

VTB will continue servicing brokerage accounts. However, some transactions involving settlements in foreign currencies are temporarily unavailable. The bank is exploring possible solutions to restore this function. The bank's clients can apply for transferring securities of foreign issuers to another broker, it said.

To minimize risks in the current situation, VTB recommends that its corporate clients temporarily refrain from conducting any transactions and settlements denominated in U.S. dollars and euros while receiving VTB's services. When making settlements in other currencies, the bank advises its clients to exclude involvement of any financial institutions and individuals located in the United States, the European Union, or the United Kingdom or otherwise considered to be operating in the United States, the EU, or the UK, as well as their subsidiaries, it said.