How exposed are Swiss banks to Russia?

Swiss bank UBS said Monday it has under $10 million of loans outstanding to clients subject to sanctions imposed over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The bank said its exposure to Russia totalled $200 million.

In an annual report, the bank said its “current direct exposure to Russia, Ukraine and Belarus is limited.”

UBS said it identified “a small number of Global Wealth Management clients subject to the recently introduced sanctions, with total loans outstanding of under USD 10 million.”

Traditionally neutral Switzerland last week aligned itself with EU sanctions against Russia over the February 24 invasion of Ukraine and ordered the freezing of Russian assets.

Sanctions on Russia: Is Switzerland still a neutral nation?

Director general Ralph Hamers and chairman Axel Weber said in a letter to shareholders that “we are working to implement sanctions imposed by Switzerland, the US, the EU, the UK and others — all of which have announced unprecedented levels of sanctions against Russia and certain Russian entities and nationals.

“These events, together with counter-sanctions and other measures taken by Russia, will have ongoing effects on the markets and the global economy,” UBS warned, while “current geopolitical tensions also may lead to increased risk of cyberattack from foreign state actors.”

UBS has previously reported a net profit for 2021 at $7.5 billion, despite the bank taking a $861 million hit related to the fallout from last year’s collapse of US hedge fund Archegos.

By comparison Swiss rival Credit Suisse took a $5.5 billion hit.

Gold, secrecy and wealth: Six Swiss bank myths that need to be busted