RUSSIA’S VTB WILL ADJUST LONDON OPERATIONS DEPENDING ON HOW BREXIT UNFOLDS

MOSCOW: Russia's second-largest bank VTB is likely to adjust its investment banking activities in London because of Britain's vote to leave the European Union, but the scale of the changes will depend on how Brexit unfolds, it said on Tuesday

The Financial Times reported on Tuesday that the bank would move its European headquarters out of London because of Brexit, but VTB said in a statement that its European headquarters were located in Vienna, not London, and its operations in the Austrian capital would continue unchanged

"Due to Brexit, VTB will be adjusting its activities in London but there is no intention of closing our business there," the bank said

"Relocating from London or maintaining our presence there will depend on how Brexit unfolds." VTB has already cut staff numbers in London, sources have told Reuters, since its global ambitions were hit after it was included in Western sanctions over the Ukraine conflict in 2014

The bank has also long discussed the possibility of moving its European headquarters from Vienna. VTB CEO Andrei Kostin said in October last year that the bank was considering moving its European HQ to Frankfurt

On Tuesday, VTB said the location of its European headquarters would be decided as part of its strategy for 2019