Deutsche Bank defends decision not to exit Russia: It's not 'practical' right now

[Mr. Sparkle]

Source: Cnbc



Deutsche Bank said Thursday it is not “practical” to close its Russia business, despite similar moves by major corporations seeking to distance themselves from the country over its invasion of Ukraine. Speaking to CNBC, the German bank’s chief financial officer defended the decision, saying it hinged on its duty of care to clients that still operate in the country.

It comes as other major banks make moves to pull out of Russia. In Wall Street’s first departure, Goldman Sachs said Thursday that it was winding down its business in the country, while HSBC on Monday told staff to begin ceasing their dealings with Russian banks. “We’re there to support our clients. And so, for practical purposes, that isn’t an option that’s available to us. Nor would it be the right thing to do in terms of managing those client relationships and helping them to manage their situation,” James von Moltke said.

Von Moltke added that the bank would be willing to reconsider its position should the political situation escalate further and its clients in Russia — mostly multinationals — cease their operations in the country. “Of course, we’ll need to look at how this situation evolves and consider our footprint in Russia as we gain some greater clarity as to the direction of travel here,” he said. “As that [client presence] diminishes, so too will our presence in Moscow.” Von Moltke did not name any of the bank’s clients in Russia.

Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/10/deutsche-bank-says-not-practical-to-exit-russia-business.html

[mitch96]

1. Yup, got to keep those oligarchs in cash...nt

[MurrayDelph]

36. You do if you want to avoid

Polonium tea.

[Karadeniz]

2. Paging Anonymous, paging Anonymous......

[BlueIdaho]

3. Maybe Deutsche Bank could exit America.

Shut them down and move them out.

[orangecrush]

17. Great idea. nt

[lagomorph777]

29. Once we've squeezed every possible Trump document out of them.

[BlueIdaho]

34. Exactly!

I see the removal of Deutsche Bank from America as a win win. Maybe even a win win win win…

[exboyfil]

4. Maybe after Putin invades the Baltic states

but for now he hasn't done enough to justify losing a little profitability.

[bluestarone]

5. TFG still getting his

RUBLES?

[lagomorph777]

30. Apparently, yes.

Based on his behavior. Looks like some of the checks to other people might have been cut off. Leningrad Lindsey, for example.

[niyad]

6. russia.--duetsche bank--t****.

[WVreaper]

13. Ditto that!

[Justice matters.]

7. You know what's not practical, Von Moltke?

Doing "business" with evil mobsters who bomb maternity hospitals for no rational reasons! So go F**K yourself you too!

[AntiFascist]

8. It's not practical for them to lose billions in laundered funds. n/t

[littlemissmartypants]

22. Bingo. ❤

[PurgedVoter]

9. Gee, well since this is DeutscheBank's first offense we should ignore it.

I mean when has the DeutscheBank ever before been in the news for supporting organized crime, dictators, election riggers or fascists?

[CanonRay]

10. Sanction them.

[justhanginon]

11. I guess this means the laundromat is still open.

[Freethinker65]

12. They love lending money at high rates to risky clients like Trump and Russia.

[TygrBright]

14. Check that big Russian document dump today for kompromat on DB officials. n/t

[cinematicdiversions]

15. Well at least this is on brand for them...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deutsche_Bank#1933%E2%80%931945


After Adolf Hitler came to power, instituting the Third Reich, Deutsche Bank dismissed its three Jewish board members in 1933.[25] In subsequent years, Deutsche Bank took part in the aryanization of Jewish-owned businesses, provided the owners of “aryanized” businesses were in the know about their Jewish status beforehand; according to its own historians, the bank was involved in 363 such confiscations by November 1938.[25][26] In 1938, German bank Mendelssohn & Co. was acquired.[27][28] During the war, Deutsche Bank incorporated other banks that fell into German hands during the occupation of Eastern Europe. Deutsche Bank provided banking facilities for the Gestapo and loaned the funds used to build the Auschwitz camp and the nearby IG Farben facilities.[29]

During World War II, Deutsche Bank became responsible for managing the Bohemian Union Bank in Prague, with branches in the Protectorate and in Slovakia, the Bankverein in Yugoslavia (which has now[when?] been divided into two financial corporations, one in Serbia and one in Croatia), the Albert de Barry Bank in Amsterdam, the National Bank of Greece in Athens, the Creditanstalt-Bankverein in Austria and Hungary, the Deutsch-Bulgarische Kreditbank in Bulgaria, and Banca Comercială Română (The Romanian Commercial Bank) in Bucharest. It also maintained a branch in Istanbul, Turkey.

In 1999, Deutsche Bank confirmed officially that it had been involved in the Auschwitz camp

[blue-wave]

16. The laundromat is open

And has been expanded. Send it all to us, Russia.

[Princess Turandot]

18. Von Moltke said "the bank had managed the market risk 'quite successfully' in the war's early days".

And they're proud of themselves!

Given that they describe their actual loan exposure to be “very limited", it appears that they're staying put because they want to, not out of financial desperation.

It's disappointing that the reporter didn't ask him if the bank did not think that it had any moral obligation to participate in sanctions, in light of Russia's slaughter of Ukrainians.

Deutsche Bank, for its part, has sought to reassure investors that its exposure to Russia is “very limited.”

In an announcement released Wednesday, the bank said that included gross loan exposure to Russia of $1.4 billion euros ($1.55 billion), or 0.3% of its total loan book.

Von Moltke said the bank had managed the market risk “quite successfully” in the war’s early days, and noted that it was working closely with clients to manage their response.

He added that the bank’s capital in its Moscow subsidiary had been “fully hedged” to manage currency risks.

[yardwork]

19. I'll bet.

[Cha]

20. UGLY SHAME on Duetsche Bank!

💙💛

[hamsterjill]

21. If it walks like a duck...

And quacks like a duck, it’s probably a duck.

The Russian connection to Trump.

[BootinUp]

23. I think there was already circumstantial

evidence that pointed to a Russian oligarch... through Deutsch Bank IIRC.

[lagomorph777]

31. But does it float like a duck?

[The Unmitigated Gall]

24. Oligarchs gotta oligarch.

[OverBurn]

25. TFG's favorite bank. Who would have thunk it.

[HAB911]

26. Deutsche Bank needs to be shut down

well known money laundering bank

[2Gingersnaps]

27. Call it what it is.

Russian money laundering is lucarative, even after you have been busted for it. It isn't a crime if you are rich enough, just ask The Donald.

[samsingh]

28. that bank seems criminal

[lagomorph777]

32. Maybe just a little.

They have been nothing but criminal for nearly a century.

[patphil]

33. Too much dirty money on the line?

[nvme]

35. DeNazify and force Deutsche out of the US

[Mr.Bill]

37. Yeah, it wasn't real practical for the US

to stop buying oil from Russia, either, but we did it anyway because it was the right thing to do.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

38. Deutsche Bank Reverses Decision and Will Now Shut Down Operations in Russia

Link to tweet

Deutsche Bank’s CFO said Thursday it is not “practical” to close its Russian business, despite similar moves by major corporations seeking to distance themselves from Putin’s globally unpopular invasion of Ukraine. Deutsche had resisted pressure to sever ties, arguing that it needed to support multinational firms doing business in Russia. The German bank’s chief financial officer defended the decision, saying it hinged on its duty of care to clients that still operate in the country.

But the longtime former lender to Donald Trump reversed course on Friday, announcing that they plan to shut down its business in Russia. Going forward, Deutsche Bank said there won’t be “any new business in Russia.” The move comes a day after first Goldman Sachs and then JPMorgan Chase revealed plans to wind down their own operations in Russia.

It’s not clear what sparked the reversal from Deutsche Bank, which said earlier this week it has “limited” exposure to Russia, with gross loan exposure of about $1.5 billion. That’s more than twice the amount of exposure Goldman Sachs indicated it has. “As we have repeatedly said, we condemn the Russian invasion of Ukraine in the strongest possible terms and support the German government and its allies in defending our democracy and freedom,” Deutsche Bank said in its statement.

Link to tweet