Raiffeisen
Austrian bank with Russia's largest Western exposure; asset dispute stalls the EU's 21st sanctions package.
Raiffeisen Bank International remains the only major Western bank still fully operating inside Russia, its exposure now central to the EU's stalled 21st sanctions package as of 20 July 2026.
Last refreshed: 20 July 2026 · Appears in 2 active topics
Timeline for Raiffeisen
EU freezes $44 Russia oil cap 12 months
European Oil MarketsStood to receive roughly EUR 2bn compensation from frozen Russian assets
European Oil Markets: Six states hold the 22 July Coreper voteRussia-linked banking access dispute
European Oil Markets: Mentioned in: EU freezes Russia oil cap for a weekEU's 21st sanctions package stalls again
Russia-Ukraine War 2026Background
Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) is the Austrian lender with by FAR the largest Western banking exposure to Russia, run through its subsidiary AO Raiffeisenbank, one of the few remaining channels giving Russian counterparties access to SWIFT. RBI has sought a buyer for the Russian unit since December 2025 without completing a sale, and Russian regulators have been reluctant to approve an exit that would sever one of the last international payment links.
That exposure has repeatedly entangled RBI in EU sanctions diplomacy. Vienna has pressed for the delisting of Rasperia, an investment firm linked to Oleg Deripaska, so that a share of Rasperia's frozen Russian assets can compensate RBI, a national condition that has helped stall successive rounds of the bloc's Russia sanctions negotiations.
Campaign groups including BankTrack and B4Ukraine have separately found RBI subsidiaries still invested in sanctioned Russian entities, adding pressure on Brussels even as Vienna resists. RBI's position underlines a structural feature of EU sanctions policy: unanimity means a single lender's exposure in a single member state can hold up a package that otherwise has broad support.
When did the EU's 21st sanctions package fail to pass?
Why does Austria want Rasperia delisted from EU sanctions?
Which Western bank has the biggest exposure to Russia?
Does Raiffeisen Bank still operate in Russia?
