Raiffeisen Bank International saw its Russian operations cast into the spotlight again this Wednesday, as the bank’s Annual General Meeting was dominated by a series of protests inside and outside the assembly related to recent revelations about its dealings with state-affiliated entities in Russia.
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Speakers outside the AGM venue at the Wiener Stadthalle accused the bank of “undermining international sanctions designed to cripple Russia’s ability to wage war on Ukraine," while protestors gathered around the headquarters of both Raiffeisen Bank International and the Raiffeisenlandesbank Niederösterreich-Wien – RBI’s largest shareholder – with banners describing the bank as “Putin’s ATM”.
Inside the meeting, discussions of the bank’s recent results were largely overshadowed by the recent controversies surrounding RBI’s Russian operations. Shortly after the board’s opening speeches concluded, several activist shareholders stood up and loudly accused the bank of “warmongering”, demanding answers over recent revelations that Raiffeisen’s Russian investment manager had invested millions in sanctioned Russian companies such as Lukoil, Gazprom, and Sberbank.
Attempts by chairman of the board Erwin Hameseder to continue the discussion proved futile, and the meeting was brought to a 15-minute interruption while the critical shareholders were removed from the assembly hall.
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Raiffeisen has faced renewed scrutiny over claims that its network of Russian subsidiaries continue to provide services to Russian military suppliers, maintain investments in sanctioned Russian entities, and were instrumental in facilitating the delivery of billions of euros in foreign currency to Russia at the onset of the war.
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Neither [bank] executive responded in detail to the content of recent investigations into RBI.
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Max Hammer, a Human Rights campaigner at BankTrack, noted that Raiffeisen’s Russian asset manager had recently deleted a website hosting financial documents detailing investments in a series of Russian state-owned companies and government bonds. “Given this lack of transparency and RBI’s refusal to respond to the content of these investigations, how can shareholders be expected to have confidence in RBI’s risk management and human rights policies?” Hammer asked.
Another activist, Victoria Nikolaevskaja, confronted the bank over its refusal to commit to a detailed plan for leaving Russia: “Why didn’t Raiffeisen develop a strategy to deal with this emergency while it was still possible to do so?... And what is RBI's plan B now? How does the bank plan to proceed?”
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The recent investigations into Raiffeisen’s business relationships in Russia have sparked widespread controversy and renewed demands for an accelerated exit from Russia. More than 52,000 people have signed a petition demanding Raiffeisen leave Russia, and activists have set up a website collating opportunities for investors, customers and the public to take action against the bank's Russian operations.
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[Edit typo.]
Pull out of Russia!
Raiffeisen Bank: