The largest Cypriot bank, Bank of Cyprus, in response to a request from Frank Media, revealed information about the closure of accounts of Russian citizens. During the “cleanup of the client portfolio” since 2014, about 20 thousand accounts of 7 thousand clients with Russian citizenship were closed.
Author:
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“When the reorganization of the bank’s client portfolio began in 2014, Russians represented 4% of the client portfolio. Today this proportion is only 0.4%,” the portal quotes the response of the bank’s representative, Karen Le Cannou.
According to him, when making decisions the bank does not take into account the nationality of the client, but rather the risk characteristics, which change depending on foreign policy and the foreign economic situation. Therefore, any closure is a consequence of the risk management policy, carried out in accordance with all “international compliance standards”.
The largest number of accounts were closed in the period between 2022 and today. The accounts of Russians of retirement age living in Europe continued to function. And the bank intends to maintain this situation:
“The Bank considers and evaluates possible relationships with Russian citizens who legally reside in Europe, are not subject to international sanctions and carry out permitted activities in sectors consistent with the Bank’s policies.”
Previously, the Bank of Cyprus froze the assets of those suspected of helping to evade sanctions against Russia, and before that, in April 2023, the bank announced in advance that it would close the accounts of 4 thousand Russians who are not residents of Europe. . Union countries.
As the Bank of Cyprus commented on the situation, the credit institution “follows a cautious approach to proactively protect its reputation and the interests of customers and shareholders.”
Author:
Ekaterina Alipova
Source: RB
I am a professional journalist and content creator with extensive experience writing for news websites. I currently work as an author at Gadget Onus, where I specialize in covering hot news topics. My written pieces have been published on some of the biggest media outlets around the world, including The Guardian and BBC News.
