Goldman, JPMorgan EU banks reveal more exposure to unravel Russia business

London / New York, March 10 (Reuters) – Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GSN)And JPMorgan Chase (JPMN) Became the first US bank to cease trading in Russia after the occupation of Ukraine, while Credit Suisse (CSGN.S)At the end of last year, a total of 1.6 billion Swiss francs ($ 1.73 billion) was leaked to Russia.

Goldman Sachs, which has a $ 650 million debt exposure to Russia, said on Thursday it would close its business there, adding to the pressure on rival lenders. According to a source familiar with the situation, any loss would be “unfounded”.

A few hours later, JPMorgan said it was “actively dismantling Russian business” and not pursuing any new business there.

The largest US bank has said that its operations in Russia are currently limited to addressing and closing existing obligations to global customers, managing their Russian-related risk and acting as a custodian for customer assets. read more

JP Morgan has about 160 employees in Moscow. The bank did not list Russia in the top 20 countries with the most exposure in its most recent filings.

Western companies have largely pulled out of Russia as the United States, the European Union and Britain imposed sanctions aimed at cutting off access to the global financial system in response to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

Banks, insurers and property managers, who rarely issue political statements, are eager to distance themselves from Russia and evaluate their disclosures, as the conflict enters its third week. read more

Credit Suisse is the latest European bank to disclose the extent of potential losses, including lending to wealthy customers and trade finance and investment banking exposure. read more

Unicredit of Italy (CRDI.MI) And BNP Paribas of France (BNPP.PA) Russia has also exposed the risk, worth billions of euros. In a serious situation, the banks would lose everything if Moscow confiscated assets and sanctions made Russia-related bonds worthless. read more

Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE) Its debt-to-risk exposure to Russia and Ukraine has fallen to 2.9 billion euros and Russia’s exposure further in the past two weeks. read more

Russia calls its actions in Ukraine a “special operation.”

While the potential losses among major European lenders are not large enough to threaten their sustainability, analysts and investors fear it could disrupt their breakthrough plans and stop paying shareholders. read more

The clash could also boost the interest rate hike planned by the European Central Bank, whose policymakers are expected to attend a meeting on Thursday. read more

BNP Paribas, meanwhile, has cut off its Russian-based staff from its internal computer systems as it seeks to strengthen its defenses against any potential cyber-attack, another sign of how conflicts are affecting Western financial institutions.

The French bank, which is considered to be the first major lender to expel employees in Moscow from IT networks, has also placed employees elsewhere on high alert for cyber threats emanating from Russia. read more

($ 1 = 0.9269 Swiss francs)

Report by Lawrence White, Brenna Hughes Negavi, Matt Schaffham and David Henry; Additional Report by Senate Cruz and Tom Sims. Editing by Jane Merriman, Michael Price and Nick Jiminski

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