Bosnians, Croatians, Queue to Withdraw Money From Russian Bank

Customers wait in long queues in a Sberbank branch in Sarajevo. Photo: BIRN

In Bosnia, many wanted to withdraw their money, fearing the loss of their savings. Bank officials are giving dates to customers if they want to withdraw large sums due to high demand.

"I came here at 8 in the morning and I am still waiting. I want to withdraw all my money and close my account. I don't want to risk my savings because of the sanctions imposed on Russian banks," a 32-year-old Sarajevan man told BIRN.

Since Russian invaded Ukraine, the EU and the US have imposed severe sanctions on Russia and its financial institutions, including state-backed Sberbank.

On Sunday, the EU and the US blocked Russian banks' access to the SWIFT international payment system in a move to cripple Russia's financial power due to its attack on Ukraine.

In Croatia over the weekend Croatians also started withdrawing their money from Sberbank. The bank insists it is ready for all scenarios, but Croatian citizens, some of whom lost their money in the Slovenian banks during the war in former Yugoslavia in the 1990s, are sceptical.

"I'm here because a war started. Who knows what will happen with the bank? The little man always loses, the bank will definitely find its way out of this mess", one man waiting in line in front of Sberbank in Sibenik told local news site SibenikIn.

On Sunday, the Croatian National Bank, HNB, announced a two-day moratorium for Sberbank after which they would decide on the next steps, Croatian media reported on Monday.

Until those next steps are decided, Croatian citizens can withdraw up to 7280 kunas, or about 1,000 euros, per day. HNB also wrote that, whatever happens with the bank, Sberbank's clients' deposits are guaranteed up to...