Banque Commerciale pour l'Europe du Nord – Eurobank explained

Banque Commerciale pour l’Europe du Nord (BCEN) or Banque Commerciale pour l'Europe du Nord – Eurobank (BCEN-Eurobank) was a Soviet-controlled bank in Paris,[1] founded in 1921 by wealthy Russian emigres and supported by the Council of People's Commissars (SovNarKom) (Russian: Совнарком) through Leonid Krasin who, in 1925, sold their stakes to the Soviet Union.[2] It maintained correspondent accounts with Western banks to secure lines of credit for facilitating Soviet imports into that country in which the correspondent account is located. Also, these correspondent accounts performed foreign currency exchange for the Kremlin.[3]

History

During the 1920s and 1930s, Soviet and numerous foreign sources referred to this bank as the Aero Bank (Russian: «Аеробанк») or Airbank in Paris (Russian: «Эйробанк» в Париже) and not the Aero-Bank SA which was a branch of the German bank Aerobank, which was known as the Bank der Deutschen Luftfahrt AG (BDL), and established in Paris by Nazi Germany during its occupation.[4]

The Soviet Union used the bank to manage Spain's gold reserves during the Spanish Civil War.[5]

After the fall of the Soviet Union, many persons involved with BCEN-Eurobank became leaders in Russian economy, banking, and finance.[6]

The 1993 established Moscow bank "Evrofinance" was a subsidiary of Eurobank.[7]

During the 1990s, BCEN – Eurobank was involved in the looting of Russia.[8]

In 2005, Russia's Vneshtorgbank became the major shareholder. Later, Vneshtorgbank changed its name to VTB Bank, and BCEN-EUROBANK name was changed to VTB Bank (France) SA.

Operations

Eurobank participated in foreign currency exchange and Eurocurrency markets and was a leader in Eurodollar lending. In December 1973, Eurobank and Credit Lyonnais formed the Societe pour la Promotion Europeenne du Leasing (Promolease) based in Paris to promote and finance leasing operations for Soviet heavy construction equipment, Soviet snowplows, Soviet machine tools, Soviet Lada vehicles, and Czechoslovakian Škoda Auto vehicles.[9]

The Soviet Union supplied funds through Eurobank to the French Communist Party (PCF).[10] [11]

The bank had its offices at 77, 79, and 81, boulevard Haussmann in Paris.[12]

Other associated banks

VTB has the western subsidiaries of the Central Bank of Russia and, before the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the daughters of the Soviet Union's Gosbank which were the Banque commerciale pour l'Europe du Nord or BCEN-Eurobank in Paris, Moscow Narodny Bank in London, Ost-West Handelsbank in Frankfurt, Donau Bank in Vienna, and East-West United Bank in Luxembourg.[13]

Eurobank was associated with Eurogrefi (Paris), RTD France (Paris), Evrofinance (Moscow) and others.[14]

Key people

See also

References

Notes and References

  1. The piratization of Russia: Russian reform goes awry. Marshall I. Goldman.
  2. News: Сухотина . Инна (Sukhotina, Inna) . Сколько стоит приданое "дочек" Банка России? . How much is the dowry of the "daughters" of the Bank of Russia? . ru . «Российская газета» (Rossiyskaya Gazeta) . 10 November 2003 . 16 October 2023 . 29 November 2003 . https://web.archive.org/web/20031129165942/https://rg.ru/2003/11/10/banki.html.
  3. Web site: Intelligence Report Soviet-owned Banks in the West . 2015-04-24 . 2016-03-04 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160304080756/http://www.foia.cia.gov/sites/default/files/document_conversions/89801/DOC_0000233857.pdf . dead .
  4. Web site: Томас Иванович Алибегов: Последовало мнение, что мне в советской банковской системе не место! . Tomas Ivanovich Alibegov: There was an opinion that I had no place in the Soviet banking system! . ru . Экономическая Летопись России (Economic Chronicle Russia) . April 2015 . 2 August 2021 . 16 October 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231016225254/https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP79T01098A000600110004-5.pdf.
  5. Web site: Stalin and the Spanish Civil War.
  6. Web site: Виктор Константинович Якунин: Нашим возможностям соответствовал, Ost-West Handelsbank . Victor Konstantinovich Yakunin: Our capabilities matched, Ost-West Handelsbank . ru . letopis.org . 2–3 (pages 459–460) . 12 August 2021 . 13 August 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210813011601/http://letopis.org/static/org/images/directs/6/49b13b66-3777-11ea-9e5e-001be2a7c7fd.pdf.
  7. Web site: Пономарёв Юрий Валентинович . Ponomaryov Yury Valentinovich . ru . Экономическая Летопись России (Economic Chronicle Russia) . 24 July 2021 . 13 February 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200213102808/http://letopis.org/heroes/ponomarevjv/.
  8. News: Powell . Bill . Follow the Money . . 28 March 1999 . 24 July 2021 . 4 March 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140304045010/https://www.newsweek.com/follow-money-163696.
  9. Web site: Soviet and East European-owned banks in the West . . December 1975 . 13 October 2023 . 16 October 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231016225254/https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP79T01098A000600110004-5.pdf. See page 6 and 12.
  10. Book: Charpier, Frédéric .

    fr:Frédéric Charpier

    . Histoire secrète du patronat de 1945 à nos jours . Secret History of Employers from 1945 to the Present . « Les « patrons rouges » au cœur des rouages financiers du Parti communiste français » (The "red bosses" at the heart of the financial cogs of the French Communist Party) . 271–281 . fr . . 2 October 2014 . 9782707178930.
  11. Book: Faligot, Roger . Roger Faligot . Histoire secrète de la Ve République . Secret History of the Fifth Republic . « Quand le Parti communiste touchait l’argent de Moscou » (When the Communist Party received money from Moscow) . fr . . 2 November 2007 . 9782707153500.
  12. Book: Mitterrand et les 40 voleurs . Jean Montaldo . Albin Michel . Paris . 2012 .
  13. News: Stern . Babette . Duparc . Agathe . La Cour des comptes russe dénonce l'opacité des filiales étrangères de la Banque centrale: Un rapport de la Cour des comptes de Moscou, commandé par la Douma, critique sévèrement la gestion des filiales étrangères de la Banque centrale de Russie. Cinq filiales sont épinglées, dont la Banque commerciale pour l'Europe du Nord, à Paris, maison-mère de Fimaco et chargée d'investir les réserves de la BCR à l'étranger . The Russian Court of Auditors denounces the opacity of the foreign subsidiaries of the Central Bank: A report by the Moscow Court of Auditors, commissioned by the Duma, severely criticizes the management of the foreign subsidiaries of the Central Bank of Russia. Five subsidiaries are pinned, including the Commercial Bank for Northern Europe, in Paris, parent company of Fimaco and responsible for investing the reserves of the BCR abroad . fr . . 10 October 1999 . 26 March 2022 . 27 March 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220327011348/https://www.lemonde.fr/archives/article/1999/10/10/la-cour-des-comptes-russe-denonce-l-opacite-des-filiales-etrangeres-de-la-banque-centrale_3566558_1819218.html.
  14. News: Сотник . Андрей (Sotnik, Andrey) . Саддаму было у кого учиться: Деньги, пропавшие во время российского дефолта, возможно, найдут на счетах тех же банков, которые обслуживали Саддама Хусейна . Saddam had someone to learn from: Money missing during the Russian default may be found in the accounts of the same banks that served Saddam Hussein . ru . Московские новости 31 26 (mn.ru) . 1 April 2003 . 25 March 2022 . 2 September 2003 . https://web.archive.org/web/20030902050002/http://www.mn.ru/issue.php?2003-31-26. Alternate archive and another alternate archive
  15. Web site: Алибегов Томас Иванович . Tomas Ivanovich Alibegov . ru . Экономическая Летопись России (Economic Chronicle Russia) . 2 August 2021 . 29 December 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171229003325/http://letopis.org/heroes/alibegovti/.

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