The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development reported that in 2018, it will close five out of seven its offices in Russia due to the imposed ban on new investment loans in this country, Ukrainian News reports.
As EBRD’s representative Jonathan Charles said, the bank will close small regional offices in Ekaterinburg, Krasnoyarsk, Rostov-on-Don, Vladivostok and Samara until the end of QI of the next year, Radio Liberty reports. Only Moscow and St. Petersburg branches will remain.
Russia’s representative to EBRD Denis Morozov deplored that this bank “lost Russia, the largest and most profitable market” and that it “will not be able to fulfill his mandate and help Russia change for better”.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development imposed a ban on new investment loans in Russia due to Moscow’s aggression against Ukraine, first in the Crimea, and then on Donbass, in 2014. After in May 2017, the Board of Directors rejected Russia’s appeal to cancel this ban, Moscow accused the bank that it became the tool of foreign policy of the West.
Despite the ban on new investments, EBRD will continue managing Russia’s ancient investment programs, amounting to more than 3 billion euros.
