ING's sale of Russian operations falls through; Kremlin won't approve
ING just can’t seem to get rid of its Russian banking operations. The company had found a buyer for ING Russia last year, but the sale fell through. The Russian authorities would not approve the transaction, the bank announced on Tuesday.
ING has terminated the sales agreement. “The decision follows our assessment that there currently is no realistic expectation that the buyer will obtain the necessary approvals,” the Dutch bank said.
The bank stressed that it remains committed to ending its activities in the Russian market. “We are assessing the next steps to achieve this goal.”
ING was set to sell its Russian unit to the Russian investor Global Development at a loss of around €800 million. The bank expects its next exit strategy to have similar financial consequences.
Last month, the Financieele Dagblad reported that the Kremlin was blocking Western banks from leaving the country. Russian banks no longer have access to the international payment system SWIFT, so the remaining Western banks are the country’s only way to pay for imports or get money out of the country.
ING has scaled back its operations in Russia since the country invaded Ukraine in February 2022. The Dutch bank is no longer accepting new Russian clients and has taken steps to separate the Russian business from ING’s networks and systems.
