Latest news with #Euroclear
The Guardian
3 days ago
- Business
- The Guardian
Ukraine must urgently be given the €300bn of frozen Russian assets
Ukraine needs more than long-range missiles and fibre-optic drones in its fight with Russia. What it needs is more money, and lots of it. In particular, the war-torn nation should be handed the €300bn (£250bn) of frozen Russian assets stored mostly in accounts hosted by the Euroclear trading system. The Belgian government could confiscate the funds with the support of the EU Commission, or set up a way to use the Russian funds as collateral for a gigantic loan to Ukraine. Either way, Moscow has forfeited its right to the money, which is mostly central bank funds that were left behind after Putin gave the order to invade. As a statement of intent, confiscating the funds would be shock to Putin, hurt his pride and undermine support at home for the war. It would give Ukraine a much needed psychological boost after months of backpedalling through the Donbas while Russian forces exploit the dithering and equivocation in Washington. Donald Trump, who views Europe as weak and indecisive, would be left reeling by such a forceful act, which many have demanded since the start of the war and has gained traction in recent weeks as the bombardment of Ukraine has intensified. A short walk from the EU commission buildings, Euroclear's HQ is one of the largest hosts to international financial transactions in the world. Understandably, it is keen to hang on to its reputation as a cast-iron guarantor of secure trading to the world's biggest investors. In this role, the company has warned that a confiscation of the €183bn lodged in its systems would undermine Europe's role as a safe haven in the eyes of investors from South America to the Indian subcontinent. It has the backing of the French and Belgian governments, which are shareholders in the organisation. Recently another reason for keeping the money frozen and unused has come to the fore. Trump's tariff war and tax-giveaway budget has undermined the US as the home of free-market capitalism, offering the EU a chance to grab a bigger slice of the financial trading action. One analyst said: 'Europe needs to move quickly to take advantage of growing disillusionment in the US economy'. Yannis Stournaras, governor of the Bank of Greece, was another to argue that the prize would be toppling the dollar as the premier reserve currency and inserting the euro in its place. A decade ago, many considered the euro a currency with only a limited lifespan before a north/south split – pitching profligate Greece, Italy and Spain against austere Germany, the Netherlands and Austria – tore the single currency apart. Today the euro is seen as a stable currency while the dollar comes under daily attack. Now is the time to show Europe is the safest of havens in contrast to Trump's America. There are mutterings in Brussels that to grab this opportunity also means rejecting attempts to confiscate Russia's frozen billions. How would it look, they ask, if the EU invited more investment in the bloc via jointly issued 'stability' bonds, when in the same breath it announced the confiscation of investor funds. Sign up to Business Today Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning after newsletter promotion This is a fallacy that needs to be squashed quickly. It's true that a few autocratic despots around the world might withdraw their funds from European trading centres if Russia's money is taken away, fearing the same would happen to them, but EU banks should not be looking after their money anyway. And the Russia situation is extreme and cannot be thought of as the thin end of any wedge, or a slippery slope. Belgium and the EU have budged a little. The interest generated by Russia's frozen assets is given to Ukraine, and Belgium hands its shareholder dividend payments to the Volodymyr Zelenskyy war effort. And earlier this month Euroclear said it plans to seize and redistribute about €3bn of Russia's funds after Moscow last year grabbed investor cash of the same value. However, the motive was just to compensate investors who were foolish enough to leave their financial assets inside a country that has been explicitly threatening war since the 2014 invasion of Crimea. Such manoeuvring only emphasises how Ukraine needs all the money now, as a show of force and as an expression of unity as much for what it could buy. It matters because, as military chiefs discussed last week in a conference held by the UK's Royal United Services Institute, Putin has the capacity to invade other parts of Europe within months of success in Ukraine. And Nato is under-prepared. There is broader agreement across Europe as each week passes that Putin needs to be stopped. Military spending is the focus, and governments are promising to ramp up their commitments. Not by €300bn though, which is why the funds in Euroclear and other EU-based financial custodians must be seized. Even Rishi Sunak, writing in the Economist earlier this year, says he agrees that Russia has kissed goodbye to any rights over the funds. We just need chancellor Merz, president Macron and Keir Starmer to say the same.
Finextra
6 days ago
- Business
- Finextra
Euroclear and Marketnode join forces
Euroclear and Marketnode, the Singapore based digital market infrastructure operator, have announced the roll out of a comprehensive, end-to-end fund order and processing solution for retail and institutional funds in Singapore. 0 This new client offering is a result of the combination of Euroclear's global fund platform, FundsPlace and Marketnode's blockchain-enabled funds infrastructure - Fundnode. The service significantly streamlines multiple activities across the retail cash and pension fund order and settlement lifecycle. Client benefits include reducing manual intervention, improving reconciliation processes, and accelerating settlement times. Last year, Euroclear made a strategic investment in Marketnode, reinforcing the strength of FundsPlace as a one stop shop for fund services across the Asia Pacific region and supporting its broader global funds strategy. Clients can seamlessly access Marketnode's full suite of services for retail cash and pension fund flows. Additionally, the partnership enables Marketnode participants to tap into FundsPlace's global marketplace and distribution network, broadening access beyond Singapore-based funds to a wide range of international funds including public and private funds. Marketnode's other major shareholders include SGX Group, Temasek, and HSBC. Rehan Ahmed, CEO of Marketnode, said: 'This milestone marks an important step in our journey as we continue to scale our funds market infrastructure in Asia-Pacific and beyond. The integration with Euroclear FundsPlace will provide our clients with a powerful toolset to unlock new business opportunities in public and private funds. We are pleased to partner with Euroclear on our shared ambition to build a next-generation funds market infrastructure for Asia.' Philippe Laurensy, CEO Asia-Pacific, Euroclear, commented: "We are very pleased to take this next step with Marketnode to enhance access to Investment funds in Singapore and expand our global reach. Leveraging cutting-edge technology with a like-minded partner allows us to enhance service quality and work toward the development of a robust, industry-wide standard for Singapore's fund ecosystem."
Russia Today
19-05-2025
- Business
- Russia Today
EU state to tap frozen Russian funds to send arms to Ukraine
Finland will supply heavy ammunition to Kiev using proceeds from Russian assets which were frozen over the Ukraine conflict, the Defense Ministry said on Monday. The move is part of a broader EU push to channel profits from immobilized Russian assets – which are primarily EU, US, and UK government bonds held in a Brussels-based securities depository – to fund Ukraine's military. Moscow considers the seizure of its assets 'theft.' Finland has struck a deal with the European Commission to send money through the European Peace Facility (EPF), the ministry said in a statement. Under the agreement, Finland will supply €90 million ($101 million) worth of heavy ammunition procured from domestic producers. The Finnish government said the deal will also benefit its defense industry. In March, Helsinki announced its 28th military aid package to Ukraine, worth around $225 million. Western countries froze an estimated $300 billion worth of Russian sovereign funds following the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022. Around $213 billion of this is held by Euroclear. The frozen funds have already accrued billions in interest, of which Euroclear transferred $1.63 billion to Kiev last July. Russia has condemned the freezing of its assets, hinting at possible retaliatory measures against Western investments. Moscow has also warned against Western weapons deliveries to Ukraine, saying they only serve to prolong the conflict and heighten regional security threats. According to Kiel Institute estimates, Kiev received over $363 billion in NATO aid as of February 2025. A recent report by the Eurasia Observatory, which tracks the conflict's long-term impact on organized crime, suggests that a massive influx of Western-supplied weapons from Ukraine will hit Europe's black markets after the conflict with Russia is over. The report stated that weapons, including heavy arms, are being stockpiled across Ukraine, and that once the conflict ends and martial law is lifted, reduced state control could create opportunities for organized crime.
Globe and Mail
16-05-2025
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Seizing almost €200-billion in Russian state assets at Euroclear could trigger ugly repercussions
Financial services companies flourish when they build trust among investors and clients; they die a slow (or sometimes even quick) death when they do not. When confidence evaporates in a bank, for instance, a run on deposits can shatter the business virtually overnight. One of the biggest financial services players, Euroclear, has the confidence of not just its home country, Belgium, but the whole world. Or at least did. One client in particular – the Russian state – is seething mad. Moscow fears that the €195-billion ($305-billion) of sanctioned assets held in custody at Euroclear are vulnerable to 'theft,' as Western governments come under pressure to seize the funds to pay for Ukraine's reconstruction when the war ends. That scenario could unfold, opening a Pandora's Box of lawsuits that could damage Euroclear, make a mockery of its mission to 'safekeep your investments' and possibly destabilize the European economy and beyond. In March, Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever told reporters that confiscating the Russian assets would amount to 'an act of war' that would ensure massive retaliation by the Kremlin and pose 'systemic risk to the entire financial world system.' He may be right. So beware what you ask for, Western leaders. Euroclear calls itself a financial markets 'infrastructure' company. In simple terms, that means it is a depository of securities – the world's biggest, in fact – and provides transaction settlements for everything from bonds and equities to funds and derivatives. At last count, it held €41-trillion in assets – equivalent to more than a third of global GDP – had 2,400 clients and handled some 300 million transactions a year. On Wednesday, it reported record first-quarter business income of €466-million, up 10 per cent over the same quarter a year earlier, and a net profit of €283-million. Russian foreign reserves began to funnel into Euroclear in 2012. Its central bank lost control of many assets it stashed at Euroclear and other depositories after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in early 2022 triggered a barrage of sanctions. About €300-billion was immobilized in Western countries, almost two-thirds of which is held by Euroclear. While the Russian assets themselves remain frozen, for the moment anyway, the profits made on them are not. Under European Union law, those profits are siphoned off and used to help Ukraine. In the first three months of this year alone, the interest on the cash balances of the sanctioned Russian assets came to €1.5-billion. In 2024 alone, Euroclear delivered €3.5-billion of the 'windfall' profits to the European Fund for Ukraine (The World Bank earlier this year estimated that Ukraine will need €506-billion over a decade to piece itself back together). Next up might be the underlying assets themselves. If those assets are seized and handed to Ukraine, the consequences could be ugly. The EU's most senior diplomat, Kaja Kallas, supports using the assets, as do the foreign ministers of Poland and Lithuania. Britain and Sweden are in broadly in favour. French lawmakers have backed a non-binding resolution calling for the EU to seize the assets. But Germany, Italy and Belgium oppose the idea. The idea of seizing foreign sovereign assets is enveloped in grey legal mist. Those assets are probably immune from both international- and domestic-law jurisdictions unless such seizures are labelled countermeasures – that is, made in response to breach of international law by Russia itself. But some law professors think a government decree or a new EU regulation might allow seizures to happen. Euroclear itself is terrified of the scenario. 'We cannot end up in a situation where assets are confiscated and then a few years later Russia comes and demands them back, when the assets are no longer there,' Euroclear chief executive officer Valerie Urbain said in a Bloomberg interview last year. 'If assets are confiscated, then liabilities must also be transferred.' The legally dubious nature of seizing the assets is one big risk. There are others. The Russian state could wallop Euroclear with lawsuits; already, the owners of the €70-billion in private Russian assets held by the company are suing for compensation. In its earnings statement, Euroclear said 'the probability of unfavourable rulings in Russian courts is high since Russia does not recognize the international sanctions.' The seizure of the assets could trigger a wave of withdrawals – a bank run, in effect – that could cripple Euroclear. The precedent of nabbing sovereign assets could encourage raids on the assets of other countries that misbehave in some way, like launching wars of aggression or being found guilty of serial human rights abuses. Should Israeli assets be seized because its total blockade of Gaza since March has left hundreds of thousands of Palestinians 'at critical risk of famine,' as UN-backed food security experts said earlier this month? Mr. De Wever, the Belgian Prime Minister, knows that any seizure of the Russian assets could push Euroclear, Belgium itself and the international financial markets into the house of pain. 'We're not living in a world of fantasy,' he said. 'We're in the real world, where if you take €200-billion from somebody, there will be consequences.'
Reuters
16-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Russian court orders recovery of around $185 million from Euroclear, Vedomosti reports
MOSCOW, May 16 (Reuters) - A Russian court has ordered the recovery of almost 15 billion roubles ($185 million) from Belgium's Euroclear in a lawsuit filed by First Asset Management, formerly a division of Russia's largest lender Sberbank, the Vedomosti daily reported on Friday. International sanctions against Moscow over the Ukraine conflict have blocked many Russian investors' access to securities held in jurisdictions outside the country, while Russian countermeasures have frozen Western funds within. Russian court filings showed that First Asset Management's lawsuit had been partially satisfied. Euroclear declined to comment. First Asset Management did not respond to a request for comment. Vedomosti said the court had ordered the recovery of around 15 billion roubles in various currencies, including $161.5 million, 19.9 million euros and smaller amounts in British pounds, Australian dollars, Canadian dollars and Swiss francs. The plaintiff's previous effort to recover around 165 billion roubles from Euroclear was rebuffed by a previous court decision, the RIA news agency reported in April. ($1 = 80.6955 roubles)
