在美國制裁令後中國銀行收緊對俄羅斯的限制

Recently Yahoo News on-line reported the following:

China Banks Tighten Curbs on Russia After US Sanctions Order

Bloomberg News

Mon, January 15, 2024 at 10:01 p.m. PST

(Bloomberg) -- China’s state-owned banks are tightening curbs on funding to Russian clients after the US authorized secondary sanctions on overseas financial firms that aid Moscow’s war effort in Ukraine, people familiar with the matter said.

At least two banks ordered a review of their Russian business in recent weeks, focusing on cross-border deals, said the people, asking not to be identified discussing a private matter. Banks will sever ties with clients on the sanctions list and will stop providing any financial services to the Russian military industry regardless of the currency or the location of the transactions, said the people.

The lenders are stepping up due diligence on clients, including checks on whether their business registrations, authorized beneficiaries and ultimate controllers are from Russia, said the people. The review will be extended to non-Russian clients conducting business in Russia or transfer critical items to Russia through a third country, they said.

The move marks an escalation of curbs Chinese state banks had in place since at least early 2022, after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine triggered a wave of sanctions from nations including the US. The US Treasury Department said last month it would use secondary sanctions against banks that facilitate deals for Russia to procure equipment necessary for its war machine, expanding its financial battle against President Vladimir Putin.

The National Financial Regulatory Administration didn’t immediately respond to a request for a comment.

The development underscores the extent to which China is complying with US sanctions despite its opposition to them in principle and pledges to maintain economic ties with Russia. President Xi Jinping’s government has avoided supplying any major military aid to Russia, even as it provides diplomatic backing to Putin and steps up trade in areas not prohibited by sanctions.

China’s exports to Russia have surged over the course of the war and the nation has become the largest importer of fossil fuels from Russia, with coal shipments more than doubling since 2020. Sanctions have deprived Russia’s central bank of access to about half of its international reserves, leaving it in possession of only gold and yuan. Use of the Chinese currency has risen with the the share of yuan-based settlement climbing to 27% as of September from 15% at the end of 2021.

In finance, Russian banks in 2022 turned to China’s UnionPay after Visa Inc. and Mastercard Inc. suspended operations.

The nation’s biggest four state banks have a history of complying with previous US sanctions against Iran, North Korea to avoid losing access to the US dollar clearing system.

The US decision to impose secondary sanctions is controversial because the potential impact is hard to predict and carries the risk of unintended consequences. Wary of violating rules, banks might abandon entire sectors even if they’re not sanctioned.

Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. and Bank of China Ltd. moved to restrict financing for Russian commodities in February 2022, Bloomberg News reported earlier, even though sanctions back then spared Russia’s energy sector.

In the latest round of curbs, banks were ordered to stick to a strict threshold in cases where they can’t confirm if their Russia-related businesses concern sectors that could be impacted.

Translation

（彭博） - 知情人士稱，在美國授權對援助莫斯科在烏克蘭戰爭中的海外金融公司實施後續制裁後，中國國有銀行正在收緊對俄羅斯客戶的融資限制。

因討論私人問題而要求匿名的知情人士表示，最近幾週至少有兩家銀行下令對其俄羅斯業務進行審查，並專注於跨境交易。 知情人士稱，銀行將切斷與制裁名單上的客戶的聯繫，並停止向俄羅斯軍事工業提供任何金融服務，無論交易用的貨幣或地點。

知情人士稱，貸款機構正在加強對客戶的盡職調查，包括檢查其商業登記、授權受益人和最終控制人是否來自俄羅斯。 他們表示，審查範圍將擴大到在俄羅斯開展業務或透過第三國向俄羅斯轉移重要物品的非俄羅斯客戶。

此舉標誌著中國國有銀行至少自 2022 年初以來實施的限制升級，此前俄羅斯入侵烏克蘭引發了包括美國在內的國家發出的一波制裁。 美國財政部上個月表示，將對那些為俄羅斯採購戰爭機器所需設備提供便利的銀行實施後續制裁，擴大其針對總統普京的金融戰。

國家金融監理局沒有立即回應置評請求。

這一事態發展突顯了中國在多大程度上遵守了美國的製裁，儘管中國原則上反對這些制裁，並承諾與俄羅斯保持經濟關係。 習近平主席的政府避免向俄羅斯提供任何重大軍事援助，儘管它向普京提供了外交支持，並加強了不受制裁禁止的領域的貿易。

戰爭期間，中國對俄羅斯的出口激增，中國已成為俄羅斯最大的化石燃料進口國，自 2020 年以來，煤炭運輸量增加了一倍多。制裁使俄羅斯央行無法動用約一半的國際儲備，只留下黃金和人民幣，人民幣的使用量增加，人民幣結算的份額從 2021 年底的 15% 攀升至 9 月 的27%。

在金融方面，俄羅斯銀行在 Visa Inc. 和 Mastercard Inc. 暫停營運後，在 2022 年轉向中國銀聯。

中國最大的四國有銀行一直遵守美國先前對伊朗和北韓的製裁，以避免失去進入美元清算系統的機會。

美國實施後續制裁的決定頗具爭議，因為其潛在影響難以預測，也可能帶來預計不到的後果。 由於擔心違反規則，銀行可能會放棄某類務業，即使它們沒有受到製裁。

根據彭博社稍早報道，中國工商銀行和中國銀行於 2022 年 2 月採取行動限制對俄羅斯大宗商品的融資，儘管當時並未製裁俄羅斯能源產業。

在最新一輪的限制措施中，銀行被要求遵守嚴格的門檻，以至它們無法確認其與俄羅斯相關的業務是否涉及可能受到影響的行業。

              So, China is tightening curbs on funding to Russian clients after the US authorized secondary sanctions. Wary of violating rules, some banks might abandon entire sectors even if they’re not sanctioned. I am wondering how these secondary sanctions will impact Russia’s economy and war effort.