White House Privately Asking Banks To Work With Russia

Bloomberg: US Quietly Asks Banks to Keep Some Ties With Russia, Even as Congress Balks 

Deep into a seven-hour congressional hearing on Sept. 21, Representative Brad Sherman, a Democrat from California, pressed Dimon on whether his bank would sever ties with Russian companies including energy giant Gazprom PJSC. 

Banks like Dimon’s, Sherman argued, were exploiting a sanctions loophole to keep doing business in Russia despite its invasion of Ukraine. “We are following the instructions of the American government as they asked us to do it,” Dimon responded before Sherman cut him off, setting his sights on Citigroup Inc.’s Jane Fraser with a similar inquiry.

The exchange put on display how the country’s largest banks are caught in the push-pull between the Biden administration and Congress on sanctions. Behind the scenes, the Treasury and State Departments have urged banking giants including JPMorgan and Citigroup to keep doing business with certain strategic Russian firms, according to people familiar with the situation.  

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Update #1: Biden administration encourages Wall Street banks to keep doing business with certain strategic Russian firms, report says (Business Insider)  

Update #2: White House privately asks US banks to work with Russia – Bloomberg (RT)  

WNU Editor: Even if the report from Bloomberg is true, there is no way Russian companies and institutions are going to do business with US banks.