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Banking traffic jam triggering six-month delays for Russia-China payments, sources say

As the hazard of secondary sanctions discourages Chinese banks from assisting in trade with Russia, companies are flocking to the one Russian bank with a. Chinese branch and confronting six months of delays, 5. people acquainted with the matter said.

Russia's biggest banks rushed to open accounts in China. following sweeping sanctions imposed by the United States and. other Western countries on Russia's financial system after Moscow. sent its army into Ukraine in February 2022. By the end of that. year, 90% of Russian banks had yuan accounts in Chinese banks.

reported last month that Russian oil firms are. facing hold-ups of approximately several months to be paid for crude and. fuel exports as banks in China, Turkey and the United Arab. Emirates (UAE) end up being more cautious of U.S. secondary sanctions.

That sanctions threat has left companies looking for alternative. payment routes and led to a bottleneck at VTB Bank's. Shanghai branch, the sources said. State-owned VTB is the just. Russian bank with a totally fledged branch in China.

The queue of potential account holders and restricted personnel. to deal with the demand implies some companies are waiting as long. as six months to open an account, the sources, who declined to. be named as they are not authorised to talk to the media, stated.

VTB decreased to comment.

Alternative payment approaches remain offered, such as. Through the subsidiaries of small Chinese banks in Russia. the hold-ups demonstrate how U.S. limitations can have a strong knock-on. impact.

' SERIOUS HOLD-UPS'

Now, the easiest method to make payments to Russia from China. is through an account opened at a Russian bank's branch in. China, a person in banking circles said. The plan was. suggested by attorneys and is likewise used for Chinese payments for. Russian exports, the individual stated.

The major problem is that just VTB has a completely. functioning Chinese branch, which opened in 2008. Dominant. Russian loan provider Sberbank had actually planned to open a branch. by end-2023, but has actually not yet been successful. Private lender Alfa Bank. strategies to open 2 branches, but it is still early in the. procedure.

The only (Russian) bank branch open in China is not that. big and recently they've had quite severe delays with. processing documents, stated one source.

The issues typically stem from the huge number of people. wishing to work there - both Russian companies and large. Chinese companies who want to handle approved companies in. Russia, the individual said.

And naturally, the bank prioritises big customers when. choosing clients.

Another individual participated in payments stated only having one. Russian bank in China was posing troubles, but that perseverance. was required.

Having to wait on all files to be processed was causing. delays of approximately 6 months, the person said.

Trade between the 2 nations swelled to a record $240. billion in 2023, with China purchasing more Russian oil and. providing Moscow vehicles and equipment iun specific. As China. and other Asian nations have increased trade with Russia, the. United States has actually looked for fiercer deterrents.

Russian service people began accentuating. settlement issues with Chinese banks in January. An additional. three sources said Chinese banks were turning away Russian. service.

Issues with Zhejiang Chouzhou Commercial Bank started for. us at the start of February, one of individuals said. Zheijang and other Chinese banks suspended settlement operations. with Russia following a U.S. caution of secondary sanctions in. December, they said.

Zhejiang and China's reserve bank did not right away reply. to requests for talk about a public vacation in China.

The person referred to a U.S. Treasury executive order. published on Dec. 22, 2023, which alerted that Washington could. use sanctions for the evasion of the Russian oil cost cap on. foreign banks and contacted them to boost compliance.

LACK OF TRUST?

Another person familiar with the scenario said there was a. line of 2 to 3 months for Chinese suppliers trying to. open accounts with VTB Shanghai.

I know companies that have not opened an account for six. months, the person said.

Payment hold-ups minimize income to the Kremlin and make them. erratic, allowing Washington to attain its double policy sanction. goals - to disrupt money going to the Kremlin to punish it for. the dispute in Ukraine while not disrupting worldwide energy. circulations.

If the account is already open, then there are no unique. hold-ups, however not all business on the other side (foreign) are. ready to work through VTB, stated a Russian oil market source. associated with exports.

Another oil market source stated it would be good if more. Russian banks opened branches in China as it would suggest fewer. compliance problems.

Chinese banks trust us less, and we do not understand and do not. constantly understand their requirements, the person said.

The prospect of more Russian branches seems not likely.

Sberbank was unable to get China's permission to open a. totally functional branch, according to one source.

They had no chance since they started to handle this. concern after they came under Western blocking sanctions, the. individual stated.

Sberbank decreased to comment.

(source: Reuters)