Angola: Some 4,000 VTB Africa bank customers affected by sanctions – Lusa

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Angola: Some 4,000 VTB Africa bank customers affected by sanctions – Lusa

12:12 CAT | 10 Mar 2022

File photo: Lusa

Bank VTB África, which has around 4,000 customers, of which 450 are companies, including several in the mining sector, recommends that they refrain from carrying out operations and payments in dollars and euros via that bank in Angola.

In a statement addressed to customers, the chairman of VTB África, Igor Skvortsov, noted that as it was part of the Russian international banking group VTB, the institution under Angolan law was also affected by the sanctions.

VTB Africa’s recommendation to its clients is to refrain from carrying out operations to receive export revenues, foreign exchange operations, international payments for importing goods and services and paying salaries to expatriate staff.

However, the president of VTB Africa noted that “this new package of sanctions allows the bank to take part in operations that normally occur and are necessary for the closure of operations, contracts or others that were in force until the date of their imposition.”

The note said that the bank continues to provide core banking financial services, maintaining its high level of liquidity and capital.

“The restrictions do not affect the security and availability of customer funds in domestic currency. The bank is doing its best to ensure the safety and security of its customers’ interests to protect them from possible losses,” the information reads.

“Having said this, we reiterate that Banco BTV África is seeking a lasting solution to the current situation, which allows us to return to normality, concerning the continuity of service provision and the availability of banking products of high levels, to which we have accustomed our esteemed customers and which are a reference in the Angolan financial system,” the statement noted.

Lusa contacted the management of VTB África and the National Bank of Angola for further clarification about this matter, and the alternatives proposed to customers but has yet to receive a response.

According to the last management report for the 2020 financial year, consulted by Lusa, at the end of 2020, the bank had a portfolio of 3,974 customers, of which 450 were companies and 3,524 were individuals.

VTB Africa is a commercial bank with three specific areas of operation: investment banking, corporate and retail. The retail area aims to serve only the employees of companies, which are its clients.

In 2020, around 60% of credit granted, totalling 10.6 billion kwanzas, was directed to the mining sector (6.3 billion kwanzas), according to press reports at the time.

VTB Africa began operating in Angola in 2006, and its main shareholder is VTB Moscow, Russia’s second-largest bank.

In the early hours of 24 February, Russia launched a military offensive in Ukraine that caused at least 406 deaths and over 800 wounded among the civilian population. According to the most recent UN figures, it caused the flight of over two million people to neighbouring countries.

The international community condemned the Russian invasion in general, which responded by sending arms to Ukraine and strengthening economic sanctions against Moscow.

Source: Lusa