VTB Europe Loses Naming Rights as Russia Distances Itself from Subsidiary

<p>The
European branch of one of Russia's largest banks and forex dealers, VTB, has
announced a name change. This is due to the parent company revoking its consent
for the entity to continue operating under the shared brand.</p><p>European VTB in
Liquidation Undergoes Name Change</p><p>Based in
Frankfurt, VTB Bank (Europe) SA handles VTB's operations in the Old Continent.
Due to sanctions imposed on Russia following its attack on Ukraine, this entity
has been separated as independent by regulatory bodies and has been undergoing
<a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/terms/b/bankruptcy/">bankruptcy</a> proceedings since 2022.</p><p>Frank
Hellwig, the CEO of the European company, informed Reuters that the name is
being changed to OWH SE. Before the attack on Ukraine, the Russian bank enjoyed
popularity among German consumers and even sponsored the Frankfurt Lions hockey
team.</p><p>Following
the onset of aggression against the neighboring country, clients began withdrawing
their deposits en masse, prompting regulators to intervene. They took control
of the entity's operations eighteen months ago, while sanctions cut the
institution off from Russian financial inflows.</p><p>On paper,
Russian VTB still owns the company in Europe. The director of the European
branch reportedly contacted the headquarters to obtain permission to continue
operating under the unchanged name. However, Russia is said to have refused. In
reality, VTB Bank had planned to exit Europe <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/institutional-forex/vtb-bank-is-preparing-to-close-european-operations-report/" target="_blank" rel="follow">as early as March 2022</a>.</p><p>Illegal Seizure of
Control?</p><p>VTB in
Russia commented that it was prevented from exercising its shareholder rights
through the "illegal establishment of control" over its European
subsidiary in April 2022. As a
result, representatives of the headquarters deemed it impossible to fulfill VTB
Europe's request for further use of the brand and logo. </p><p>"A
third-party financial organization, over whose activities we have no
responsibility, has no right to use VTB Bank's name and reputation," the
bank commented to Reuters.</p><p>VTB Capital Forex Still
Operational</p><p>VTB Bank
also has the subsidiary VTB Capital Forex, one of four licensed FX brokers in
Russia. At the beginning of the aggression against Ukraine, it reported
<a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/forex/brokers/russian-fx-dealer-vtb-capital-forex-suspends-trading-cites-sanctions/" target="_blank" rel="follow">suspending its operations</a> due to "anti-Russian sanctions."</p><p>At the same
time, it advised its clients <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/forex/russias-vtb-bank-asks-customers-to-avoid-conducting-forex-transactions/" target="_blank" rel="follow">to avoid transactions in US dollars and euros</a> to
"minimize risk given the current situation," referring to sanctions
imposed on the country and problems in the currency markets.</p><p>A few weeks
later, however, <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/forex/brokers/russian-broker-vtb-captial-forex-resumes-fx-trading-without-rub-pairs/" target="_blank" rel="follow">VTB Capital Forex resumed its activities</a>, unlocking trading in
pairs with the Russian ruble (RUB) and restoring the ability to open new
accounts. Reviewing the broker's current offerings, we see that the number of
trading pairs is still limited. Currently, clients can trade on 26 currency
pairs, with a maximum <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/terms/l/leverage/">leverage</a> of 40:1. The difference now is that these are
not only pairs with the Russian ruble but also with most of the popular majors
and crosses.</p><p>Since 2022,
the regulations have been significantly relaxed. A year ago, retailers
could not conduct currency transactions at all, and withdrawals from accounts
in foreign currencies were limited <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/forex/russian-central-bank-temporarily-suspends-forex-sale/" target="_blank" rel="follow">to a maximum of $10,000</a>.</p>

This article was written by Damian Chmiel at www.financemagnates.com.