International sanctions against Russia and what clients need to know

International sanctions are non-military restrictive measures aimed at ensuring international peace and security and respect for human rights. They can cover a wide range of measures, such as restrictions on a legal or natural person, a state, territory or other entity or on certain goods or services. These measures are imposed by the United Nations (UN), the European Union (EU) or individual countries (e.g. the United States of America, USA).

All natural and legal persons must comply with the UN, EU and national sanctions regimes. Šiaulių Bankas complies with all applicable sanctions and encourages clients to ensure that their activities and transactions are in compliance with applicable restrictions.

The processing time for international payments may be longer than usual, especially if the payment concerns Russia, Belarus or Ukraine.

We also recommend that entrepreneurs inform their partners who make payments to you to indicate the correspondents of Šiaulių Bankas operating in the European Union instead of Russia:

Raiffeisen Bank International, Vienna – SWIFT code RZBA ATWW

Commerzbank, Frankfurt – SWIFT code COBA DEFF

Due to the sanctions to Russia and Belarus, the monitoring of payments related to these countries has been increased. Please note that due to these restrictions, payments (outgoing and incoming) may take up to 10 working days to process (longer in exceptional cases), especially if the payments are related to Russia, Belarus or Ukraine. Local transactions may also be subject to longer processing times.

Please also be informed that in view of the international, economic and financial sanctions imposed on Russia and Belarus due to the ongoing military action in relation to Ukraine, from 25 April 2022 payment services to/from the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus will be available to existing clients. That is, for clients who have started cooperation with Šiaulių bankas  from 25 April, payments to/from the above mentioned countries will not be available. We are assessing the situation, talking to our clients about their situation, expectations and plans and encouraging businesses to switch to other markets, to make well-thought-out decisions that reduce risks and dependence on Russia and Belarus.

Please follow these recommendations so ensure a smooth payment process:

• All customers, both private and corporate, doing business with Russian and/or Belarusian entities, should be prepared to provide the Bank with additional documentation supporting the payments (including information on the beneficiaries of the business partner and/or the customer).
• When making payments, provide complete and accurate information in the purpose of payment. For example, when making payments against an invoice, include not only the invoice number, but also the final recipient of the goods, the type of goods, jurisdictions and other relevant information.
• Responsibly assess the risk of sanctions before working with business partners or providing services to customers and performing transactions related to Russia and/or Belarus.
• Check and make sure that the business partner/customer and their beneficiaries are not on sanctions lists. We recommend that you check your business partner’s and/or customer’s compliance with the sanctions lists not only when establishing new business relations with partners and/or customers, but also on a regular basis and in the case of long-term business relationships.
• Assess the geographic risk of business operations and existing business partners and follow the Know Your Business Partner principle.

No, Šiaulių Bankas operates normally.

Clients are subject to regular limits for payment cards. The Bank does not impose any additional limits, clients can, as always, increase their limits in the Internet Bank or in a branch if necessary.

The Ukrainian banking system is working and payments are being processed, but may take longer than usual.

Šiaulių bankas announces on its own initiative - from 24 Ferbruary all money transfers to Ukraine for private and business clients are completely free of charge. If the payment has been debited, you do not need to do anything about it. Fees will be refunded in the near future. We recommend making transfers in euros.

Šiaulių bankas announces on its own initiative - from 24 Ferbruary all money transfers to Ukraine for private and business clients are completely free of charge. If the payment has been debited, you do not need to do anything about it. Fees will be refunded in the near future. We recommend making transfers in euros.

We will open a bank account for Ukrainian citizens free of charge, as well as waive the fee for the service plan "Traditional for Ukrainian citizens" for 12 months. Ukrainians are welcome to come to any customer service point of Šiaulių Bankas. A list of them can be found by clicking here. Please register for the visit by calling 1813 or online by selecting the nearest customer service point.

For detailed information on how to open an account, how to manage it and the service plan, please click on the links: in Lithuanian, in English, in Russian, in Ukrainian.

As of 1 September this year, we no longer accept payments to or from the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus in any currency.

Please also note that after the new fees come into force, an additional fee of EUR 50 will be charged for credit transfers to countries or for crediting payments received from countries that are subject to enhanced monitoring by the Bank in accordance with the Law on Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Terrorist Financing and other legislation.

The following Russian and/or Belarusian banks will be disconnected from SWIFT as of 14 June

Šiaulių Bankas operates normally. There is no direct impact on banking services.

Šiaulių Bankas operates normally and clients have no reason to worry. Ensuring the security of clients’ funds and information is the highest priority of Šiaulių Bankas and other credit institutions. Deposits held in banks registered in Lithuania are covered by state deposit and investment insurance up to EUR 100,000 per depositor in each credit institution. All credit institutions are constantly monitoring the situation and preparing for various scenarios to ensure the safety of clients’ funds in all circumstances. The provision of essential services in exceptional circumstances would be ensured through coordination between the banks, the Bank of Lithuania and the state authorities.

We recommend that clients be particularly critical of information and rely only on reliable sources.

Please be aware that fraudsters may take advantage of the situation, so please keep your data safe, check who you are transferring to, and if you have any suspicions, please stop immediately and inform the Bank and law enforcement.

For more up-to-date information on sanctions, see:

Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs: https://urm.lt/default/lt/uzsienio-politika/uzsienio-politikos-prioritetai/lietuvos-saugumo-politika/sankcijos

European Union sanctions: https://www.consilium.europa.eu/

Sanctions by the Office of Foreign Assets Control, US Department of the Treasury: https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/office-of-foreign-assets-control-sanctions-programs-and-information

It is important to note that the lists of sanctions that financial institutions are subject to may vary according to the countries in which they operate.