The U.S. Treasury and the State Department have tacitly asked major U.S. banks, including JPMorgan and Citigroup, not to refuse to cooperate with "certain strategic Russian companies" to minimize the adverse effects of sanctions. In particular, officials urged banks not to refuse to provide "basic services" (money transfers and conversion into dollars) to companies that are not directly under sanctions, such as Gazprom, Uralkali, and PhosAgro. The Biden administration has repeatedly said it wants banks and businesses to keep the money flowing to nonsanctioned sectors of Russia's economy. But the extent of its conversations with the banks hasn't been previously reported. To read the original story from Bloomberg, click here.
U.S. Quietly Asks Banks to Keep Some Ties With Russia, Even As Congress Balks
In particular, officials urged banks not to refuse to provide "basic services" to companies that are not directly under sanctions, such as Gazprom, Uralkali, and PhosAgro.