UK division of Russia’s VTB files for administration
The UK division of Russian bank VTB has filed for administration today after Western sanctions were slapped on the firm following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Appearing in court today, VTB Capital said its operations had been paralysed and asked a judge to indicate whether he would grant the firm’s request to be placed in ‘special administration’, Bloomberg reported.
The firm said special administration would allow it to wind down in an orderly way with minimal disruption to wider financial markets.
VTB’s presence in the UK has been on the decline in recent years as the bank moved more of its operations to Frankfurt and Switzerland.
Accounts filed show that assets had plunged from $11.6bn in 2014 to $1.66bn by 2020, while staff numbers fell from about 400 to about 150, Bloomberg reported.
VTB was among the major Russian financial institutions to be hit with sanctions by the UK since the invasion which has sent shockwaves through the global financial system.
The filing comes after a London judge ordered the UK arm of Russia’s biggest lender, Sberbank, to be wound down this week, with its German arm also put up for sale last month.