Amsterdam trade bank went bankrupt due to sanctions

Amsterdam trade bank went bankrupt due to sanctions

Amsterdam trade bank went bankrupt due to sanctions
A Dutch bank, co-owned by the businessmen Mikhail Fridman and Petr Aven, went bankrupt.  The reason for the bankruptcy was sanctions against the entrepreneurs announced by the United States and Great Britain in connection with the start of the military special operation of the Russian Federation on the territory of Ukraine.  The bank was not included in the "black list" in the European Union.

In fact, the credit institution found itself in a situation financial boycott, as many banking institutions and counterparties refused to cooperate with it.  According to Financieele Dagblad, the local media, the management of Amsterdam Trade Bank (ATB) tried to sell the company.

The bank, in which Russian businessmen owned a 42% stake, has been looking for an investor since the end of February.  According to the available information, the deal did not take place.  At the same time, the press service of the bank stated that the media did not represent the interests of ATB, but there were no other comments.
26,000 depositors who keep millions of euros in the bank may become the victims of ATB's bankruptcy.
The Netherlands has a system of guaranteed return of deposits.  It is implemented by the state regulator.  Each depositor, most of whom are Dutch citizens, will be able to return no more than ˆ100,000.

ATB's financial problems occurred back in 2014 in connection with the events in Ukraine.  The credit organization, which was one of the structures of Alfa-Bank, began to negotiate with the Dutch Central Bank, intending to change the owner.

It was decided to transfer the assets of Amsterdam Trade Bank to the shareholders of the parent company of the financial holding (ABH Holdings S.A.), which also included Alfa-Bank Kazakhstan and Baltiysky Bank and was undergoing reorganization.  At the end of 2014, the assets of the Amsterdam bank amounted to about ˆ4 billion (about 10% of the assets of the entire holding).  The official capitalization of the bank in 2015 was ˆ264 million.
In subsequent years, Alfa-Bank also consistently reduced its stake in ATB.
In 2017, the loss of Ukrainian assets led to the need to replenish capital and an additional issue of ˆ30 million. Alfa-Bank did not take part in it, thereby reducing its share from 87.8% to 79.147%.  At the beginning of 2018, the Kommersant publication reported on another issue, which led to a reduction in the share of Alfa-Bank to 71.3%.

25.04.2022