Payments Rejected as Banks Grow Wary of Russia Trade, Journal Reports
Political tensions between Russia and the rest of the world is impeding trade in some metal markets, according to
Metal Bulletin
.
The trade journal cites sources who report that some Hong Kong banks have rejected Russian payments, payments in general take longer to complete and Russian companies have asked to switch currencies on dollar-denominated contracts or moved banks.
Metal Bulletin
adds ferro-alloys market sources have told the journal that the Hong Kong branches of HSBC, Standard Chartered and BNP Paribas have rejected some payments from companies in Russia and Belorussia. They suggested that as all three banks have incurred large fines in recent years for trading with sanctioned nations, this may have made them ultra-cautious.
Five Russian banks have been sanctioned by the US and European Union (EU) in the past month though the sanctions relate to their capacity to raise funding in the EU, and brokerage services, and do not prohibit other dealings with them.
“Hong Kong banks now are rejecting payments from Russia,” the journal quoted a market source in China as saying. “As far as I know, HSBC, Standard Chartered and BNP are not accepting payments from Russia.”
He added that the policy had been extended to payments from Belorussia, although it was unconfirmed whether this relates to specific company relationships, or if it is happening on a wider scale.