Raiffeisen Bank International Halts Risky Bond Sale Amid US Pressure

Raiffeisen Bank International has abandoned a planned sale of risky bank debt after facing pressure from the US over a deal with Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska. The Vienna bank had been working on a sale of €650mn 'additional tier 1' bonds but pulled the offering citing 'adverse market reaction to the latest headlines'. The decision came after a report that Washington was pressuring the bank to drop a complex and controversial €1.5bn asset swap with Deripaska. Raiffeisen has resisted scaling back its Russian operations despite mounting pressure, insisting that doing so would harm shareholders.