Bloomberg: US banks earned billions in ruble trading in 2022
Economy
The largest US banks, including Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and JPMorgan, received a total of $6 billion in profits from ruble trading in 2022.
According to Vali Analytics, the largest US banks, including Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and JPMorgan, received a total of $6 billion in profit from ruble trading in 2022. Bloomberg explained how the scheme evolved.
The agency’s material provides an example that on May 20, 2022, a trader in Kazakhstan can buy $10 million from the Bank of Russia at 59 rubles, add 1 ruble, sell it to a Wall Street colleague and get a quick profit of about $169,000.
“The Wall Street trader then sells them to an International client for an offshore price of 61.5 rubles per dollar,” writes Bloomberg.
According to the agency, among the countries friendly to Russia, the banks of Kazakhstan and Armenia participated in the scheme mainly: Halyk Bank (in 2022 received $373 million in income from foreign exchange transactions with the ruble), Jusan Bank (the amount was not specified), http://Kaspi.kz (77 million dollars), Ameriabank (106.7 million dollars).
Foreign companies and investors who fled Russia after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine were desperate to exchange their rubles for dollars. This made it easy for currency traders to make money. They bought dollars at a reduced price and then sold them to buyers at a higher price.
According to the publication, it is difficult to say exactly how much of this income came from Wall Street banks. Since 2022, $43 billion has been sent from Russia abroad, the bulk of which went to bank accounts in neighboring countries, including Kazakhstan, Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan.
The agency’s material provides an example that on May 20, 2022, a trader in Kazakhstan can buy $10 million from the Bank of Russia at 59 rubles, add 1 ruble, sell it to a Wall Street colleague and get a quick profit of about $169,000.
“The Wall Street trader then sells them to an International client for an offshore price of 61.5 rubles per dollar,” writes Bloomberg.
According to the agency, among the countries friendly to Russia, the banks of Kazakhstan and Armenia participated in the scheme mainly: Halyk Bank (in 2022 received $373 million in income from foreign exchange transactions with the ruble), Jusan Bank (the amount was not specified), http://Kaspi.kz (77 million dollars), Ameriabank (106.7 million dollars).
Foreign companies and investors who fled Russia after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine were desperate to exchange their rubles for dollars. This made it easy for currency traders to make money. They bought dollars at a reduced price and then sold them to buyers at a higher price.
According to the publication, it is difficult to say exactly how much of this income came from Wall Street banks. Since 2022, $43 billion has been sent from Russia abroad, the bulk of which went to bank accounts in neighboring countries, including Kazakhstan, Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan.
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