Chinese lenders stepped in to extend billions of dollars to Russian banks as western institutions pulled back their operations in the country during the first year of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.The moves by four of China’s biggest banks are part of Beijing’s efforts to promote the renminbi as an alternative global currency to the dollar.
China’s exposure to Russia’s banking sector quadrupled in the 14 months to the end of March this year, according to the latest official data analysed for the Financial Times by the Kyiv School of Economics.
The lenders took the place of western banks, which came under acute pressure from regulators and politicians in their home countries to exit Russia, while international sanctions made doing business much harder.