Harbin Bank reports increased operations in Russia

Managers of Harbin Bank pose for a group photo at an annual work report meeting held in Harbin on March 22. [Photo/chinanews.com]

Harbin Bank, a city commercial bank which has ties to several Russian banks, reported details of its currency clearing services for the Chinese and Russian currencies, according to an annual work report released by the bank in Harbin on March 22.

The bank, together with Sberbank, is the co-founder of the China-Russia Financial Alliance, a cross-border financing cooperation organization which was launched on Oct 15, 2015 and serves as a platform to build contacts, stimulate dialogue and promote information exchange.

Statistics reveal that in 2018, Harbin Bank's ruble transaction volume was 58.76 billion rubles ($908.49 million) and cross-border transfers of rubles reached 60 million bills; in addition, cross-border transfer of renminbi reached 40 million in cash and the amount of credit granted to Russian banks was equivalent to about 7 billion yuan.

Meanwhile, another two financial institutes joined the China-Russia Financial Alliance in 2018, taking the total number to 70.