Raiffeisen Among Europe Banks Most Exposed to Russia: Berenberg
Aug. 6 -- Raiffeisen, Commerzbank, Societe Generale, Nordea, ING and UniCredit are European banks most exposed to Russia sanctions, Berenberg says:
• Only direct impact on banks comes from FX translation effect of ruble’s depreciation against EUR and USD
• Most “sensitive bank” to ruble’s depreciation is Raiffeisen, whose Tier 1 capital dropped 3%, or about 300m euros, in 2013 mostly because of Russian currency’s depreciation
• Raiffeisen is most at risk and “could walk away” from Russia and Ukraine and write down investments, incurring loss of about 3b euros
• The “indirect impact” of Russian sanctions will be significant as demand for debt could weaken due to Russian economic slowdown
• Funding restrictions may affect supply of credit in Russia as latest sanctions restrict access to EU/U.S. capital markets for Russian state-owned banks