Euroclear Warns of Bankruptcy Over Russian Asset Transfer
Valerie Urben, general director of the Belgian depositary Euroclear, warned of the risk of the company's bankruptcy in the event of forced seizure of frozen Russian assets amounting to 18.5 billion euros.
Consensus
- Transferring frozen Russian assets to the EU or another structure poses a risk of Euroclear's bankruptcy.
- Russian assets in Euroclear amount to approximately 185 billion euros, representing over 80% of the company's balance.
- Euroclear's balance sheet is severely imbalanced due to the inclusion of frozen Russian assets as part of its liabilities.
- Valérie Urbain, CEO of Euroclear, stated that transferring assets without addressing corresponding liabilities would create a huge imbalance.
- The Central Bank of Russia has initiated legal action against Euroclear.
- The lawsuit is described as a 'damocles sword' by Urbain.
- The assets were originally Russian central bank reserves invested in foreign securities held in Euroclear.
- Due to sanctions, these securities were blocked and converted into liquidity, becoming part of Euroclear's balance sheet.
- Euroclear's liabilities include the obligation to return the funds to the Central Bank of Russia.
Points of divergence
- The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported that the EU transferred eight billion euros in income from frozen Russian assets to Ukraine starting in 2024. — vm
- The Central Bank of Russia filed a lawsuit with the Brussels court seeking to seize documents at Euroclear's headquarters, alleging collusion between Euroclear and the European Commission and the Council, related to sanctions rule changes adopted on July 23, 2026. — vedomosti
- Euroclear holds nearly 180 billion dollars out of 300 billion dollars in frozen Russian assets. — vesti
Coverage (4 sources)
- Euroclear faces bankruptcy if Russia's assets are seized — Вечерняя Москва
- Urben: transfer of Russian Federation assets to another structure threatens Euroclear with bankruptcy — Ведомости
- Euroclear explained what is at stake in transferring Russian assets to a new structure — Вести
- Euroclear warns of threat to capital outflow from Europe due to Russian assets — Ведомости