Russia's Sberbank postpones forum

A worker removes ice and snow from the roof of a building in front of an advertising board, which reads "Sberbank. Founded in 1841" in St. Petersburg February 11, 2011.

A worker removes ice and snow from the roof of a building in front of an advertising board, which reads "Sberbank. Founded in 1841" in St. Petersburg February 11, 2011.

Published Mar 12, 2014

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Moscow - Russia's largest bank Sberbank has postponed a business conference until the autumn due to uncertainty about Ukraine and the country's economy, the bank said on Wednesday.

It had scheduled the Russia Forum event for April 10 to 12, but said it had decided to change the timing following feedback from companies and investors.

The forum, held in Moscow, is a major annual event in Russia's business community and draws as speakers top Russian and international business people and economists as well as senior politicians.

The decision to postpone was made in light of the “lack of short-term visibility around the Ukraine situation (and) uncertain economic dynamics and elevated volatility on capital markets,” Sberbank said in an emailed statement.

The move comes after Russia's second-largest bank VTB's investment banking arm VTB Capital postponed an investment forum scheduled for April 8 to 9 in New York.

“We have rescheduled our NY event in order to ensure the availability of keynote speakers and to confirm those dates that will be convenient for the forum's target audience,” Olga Podoinitsyna, a member of the board at VTB Capital, said in a statement, confirming earlier media reports.

Russia's moves in Ukraine's Crimea region have led to a sharp fall in the rouble and predictions from some economists that Russia could fall into recession.

The West is considering sanctions that could impact Russia's economy. - Reuters

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