In a message published on the bank's website for retail clients, it states that the lender has "decided to stop processing payments" from these two countries and offer alternative options for any such operations. The decision followed the final exit from Russia, after the bank completed the sale of its division in May, two years after the initial announcement of the exit in June 2022, writes Reuters.
On Friday, Washington imposed new sanctions against Russia's Gazprombank, prohibiting the state lender from conducting any new operations related to energy and affecting the US financial system.
Among European banks, HSBC is particularly sensitive to oversight by US authorities: it has paid more than $2 billion in fines and civil penalties in the US for deficiencies in money laundering controls in its Mexican division.
Banks around the world have ceased cooperation with Russia following its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and the subsequent financial sanctions imposed against it by the US and other countries.