The European Central Bank asked banks for a plan in case of sanctions due to Ukraine

The European Central Bank has warned European financial institutions represented in Russia about the risks that sanctions bear for them in the event of Russia's "invasion" of Ukraine, the Financial Times writes, citing sources. The Central Bank asked the banks to inform how they would act in this case.

In particular, the regulator is interested in what actions banks will take if Russian organizations are cut off from the SWIFT system. “Inquiries [to banks] show that the ECB wants to make sure that European banks can comply with any sanctions regime and are able to quickly terminate relationships with customers with whom they are forbidden to deal,” the newspaper writes.

The most significant risks associated with possible sanctions are borne by banks with a large Russian presence, for example, the American Citi, the French Societe Generale, the Austrian Raiffeisen and the Italian UniCredit. The regulator also requested information on the risks associated with Russia and Ukraine from the German Deutsche Bank and the Dutch ING.

According to the Financial Times, citing data from the Bank for International Settlements, Russian legal entities and individuals owe about $121 billion to international banks, including their Russian subsidiaries. In addition, $128 billion is kept on deposits.