US, UK, Canada export credit agencies halt support to Russia, Belarus over Ukraine war

© Reuters. A view shows stacked shipping containers at the port of Felixstowe, Britain, October 13, 2021. Picture taken with a drone. REUTERS/Hannah McKay

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The export credit agencies of the United States, Britain and Canada said on Wednesday that they are withdrawing new export credit support for Russia and Belarus over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

In a joint statement issued by the U.S. Export-Import Bank, the agencies said they would continue financing support for exports to Ukraine.

“This decision builds on the wide-ranging packages of sanctions and measures imposed on the Russian Federation and Belarus since the beginning of military operations, and we encourage any ECA that has not already done so, to join us in this step to impose financial pressure on the two countries,” the export credit agencies said in the statement

A U.S. EXIM spokesperson said the bank has not provided loans or guarantees to Russian entities since Moscow’s 2014 annexation of Crimea under an administrative hold on processing Russian applications. The bank’s board is due to vote next week on a permanent ban on Russian transactions.

But EXIM still has $428.8 million in prior credit exposure to Russia, primarily for aviation sector loan guarantees that were granted before the Crimea annexation.

Western sanctions imposed against Russian banks and prohibitions on Russian aircraft are complicating repayments of these loans.

“Per the recent sanctions, we are working expeditiously to resolve those transaction repayments,” an EXIM spokesperson said in an emailed statement.