Bank could absorb consequences of 'extreme scenario' in Russiawarned it could be stripped of its business in Russia, where it has more than 18 billion euros of exposure, in one of the starkest indications yet by a global bank of the potential impact of fallout from Russia's invasion of Ukraine on Western banks.
"The group has more than enough buffer to absorb the consequences of a potential extreme scenario, in which the Group would be stripped of property rights to its banking assets in Russia," the bank said on Thursday.The comments from France's third-largest listed bank show how banks and other financial companies risk retaliation for these moves, including the possibility Russia could simply seize their assets in the country.
Even without the extreme threat of its assets being seized the French bank is likely to suffer from the economic impact of sanctions and rising defaults as Russian borrowers struggle. The French bank said its exposure consisted of 15.4 billion euros within its Russian business SG Russia, and 3.2 billion euros outside Russia."Societe Generale complies rigorously with legislation in force and diligently applies all necessary measures to strictly observe international sanctions", the bank added.