Germany Closer to Backing EU Push to Sanction Russia’s Sberbank
Germany Closer to Backing EU Push to Sanction Russia’s Sberbank
(Bloomberg) --
Germany is ready to consider including Sberbank PJSC, Russia’s largest bank, in the European Union’s next sanctions package that is currently being finalized, according to people familiar with the matter.
The sixth round, which will also likely include a phased-in embargo on Russian oil, comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin started cutting off gas deliveries to Poland and Bulgaria.
Germany had been one of the more reluctant member states when it came to the push in particular by Poland and the Baltic nations to sanction Sberbank and exclude it from the SWIFT international payments messaging system. Those countries, along with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, have been pushing for the EU to add more Russian banks to the sanctions list.
Berlin had been concerned that sanctioning Sberbank would disrupt energy-related transactions, according to diplomats and documents seen by Bloomberg. But in recent weeks, Germany has moved quickly to tap alternative suppliers for energy and is now preparing to back a phased-in ban on Russian oil, according to people familiar with EU discussions.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said earlier this month that the EU would take another look at Russian banks, including Sberbank, as they debate a sixth round of penalties.
“We are looking further at the banking sector, especially Sberbank, which accounts for 37% of the Russian banking sector. And, of course, there are energy issues,” she told Germany’s Bild am Sonntag.
The U.S. has already fully sanctioned Sberbank. The U.K. has banned the bank from clearing sterling payments through its financial system. The EU, along with the U.S. and U.K., have also sanctioned the bank’s CEO, Herman Gref.
A spokesperson for the Germany Finance Ministry said that, as usual, they don’t comment on individual reports, but that EU sanctions are the result of intensive consultations and joint decisions by all EU member states.
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