Labour MP calls for banks to cut ties with Russia

UK politician Dame Margaret Hodge has reportedly called for global banks to cut all ties with Russia.

To comply with sanctions put forward by the UK, EU, and US, international banks have had to stop services to Russian businesses.

However, the Labour MP for Barking said that banks including HSBC, JP Morgan, Deutsche Bank, and Credit Suisse have a moral duty to exit the market completely and shut their offices in Moscow, according to a report from The Guardian.

“It’s not particularly shocking to see that major City or European banks have a presence in Russia,” Hodge said, as reported by the newspaper. “But what is shocking is that we have not heard from the banks what they plan to do about it.”

While the Labour MP recognises that banks already have a big role to play by rolling out sanctions, she says that banks should be going further.

“While they may not have to leave Russia yet according to the law, there is a moral dimension to this and I fully expect that these banks will do the right thing and start severing ties with Russia and the Russian economy,” she said, according to the report.

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