Kazakhstan’s Home Credit Bank has stopped its cooperation with the Russian VTB Bank because of the risk of secondary sanctions, Home Credit has reported.
“In connection with international sanctions imposed on JSC DO Bank VTB Kazakhstan (VTB Kazakhstan), JSC ‘Home Credit Bank’ has decided to cease cooperation with VTB Kazakhstan to exclude the risks of secondary sanctions. In this regard, any transfer operations in tenge and foreign currency on customers’ accounts to/from VTB Kazakhstan will be stopped,” the bank’s statement read.
VTB remains the only Russian bank with a subsidiary structure in Kazakhstan. Earlier, Sberbank and Alfa Bank sold their subsidiary banks in the country. The US, EU, and UK are enforcing sanctions on VTB.
As of July 1, 2024, VTB Kazakhstan ranked 18th in assets among the country’s 21 banks.
Home Credit Bank Kazakhstan was previously owned by Home Bank, but fully exited the asset at the end of 2022. Home Credit Bank CEO Kirill Bachvarov explained that this was necessary to restore the bank’s rating, as the link to the Russian shareholder negatively affected its position.
In July 2024, the U.S. Treasury tightened sanctions against Russia, adding to the list of companies whose work with Russia could lead to risks of secondary sanctions, including VTB Kazakhstan.
