The European branch of one of Russia's largest banks and forex dealers, VTB, has announced a name change. This is due to the parent company revoking its consent for the entity to continue operating under the shared brand.

European VTB in Liquidation Undergoes Name Change

Based in Frankfurt, VTB Bank (Europe) SA handles VTB's operations in the Old Continent. Due to sanctions imposed on Russia following its attack on Ukraine, this entity has been separated as independent by regulatory bodies and has been undergoing bankruptcy proceedings since 2022.

Frank Hellwig, the CEO of the European company, informed Reuters that the name is being changed to OWH SE. Before the attack on Ukraine, the Russian bank enjoyed popularity among German consumers and even sponsored the Frankfurt Lions hockey team.

Following the onset of aggression against the neighboring country, clients began withdrawing their deposits en masse, prompting regulators to intervene. They took control of the entity's operations eighteen months ago, while sanctions cut the institution off from Russian financial inflows.

On paper, Russian VTB still owns the company in Europe. The director of the European branch reportedly contacted the headquarters to obtain permission to continue operating under the unchanged name. However, Russia is said to have refused. In reality, VTB Bank had planned to exit Europe as early as March 2022.

Illegal Seizure of Control?

VTB in Russia commented that it was prevented from exercising its shareholder rights through the "illegal establishment of control" over its European subsidiary in April 2022. As a result, representatives of the headquarters deemed it impossible to fulfill VTB Europe's request for further use of the brand and logo.

"A third-party financial organization, over whose activities we have no responsibility, has no right to use VTB Bank's name and reputation," the bank commented to Reuters.

VTB Capital Forex Still Operational

VTB Bank also has the subsidiary VTB Capital Forex, one of four licensed FX brokers in Russia. At the beginning of the aggression against Ukraine, it reported suspending its operations due to "anti-Russian sanctions."

At the same time, it advised its clients to avoid transactions in US dollars and euros to "minimize risk given the current situation," referring to sanctions imposed on the country and problems in the currency markets.

A few weeks later, however, VTB Capital Forex resumed its activities, unlocking trading in pairs with the Russian ruble (RUB) and restoring the ability to open new accounts. Reviewing the broker's current offerings, we see that the number of trading pairs is still limited. Currently, clients can trade on 26 currency pairs, with a maximum leverage of 40:1. The difference now is that these are not only pairs with the Russian ruble but also with most of the popular majors and crosses.

Since 2022, the regulations have been significantly relaxed. A year ago, retailers could not conduct currency transactions at all, and withdrawals from accounts in foreign currencies were limited to a maximum of $10,000.