22 May 2023 10:06

Austria's RBI to end correspondent relations with Belarusian banks - report

MINSK. May 22 (Interfax) - Austrian banking group Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) in terminating correspondent relations with Belarusian banks, Austria Press Agentur (APA) reported.

RBI has decided to dramatically curtail correspondent relations with banks in the region and the banks have been notified of this, APA said, citing RBI's press secretary. This will make international payments significantly more difficult for Belarusian banks, APA said.

In 2021, after the European Union imposed sectoral sanctions against the Belarusian financial sector, RBI restricted cooperation with the country's largest state bank, Belarusbank, cutting off correspondent relations with it for transfers in euros.

Belarusian media reported in February that a number of Belarusian businesses had run into problems making payments to European counterparties through Priorbank, RBI's subsidiary in Belarus.