Russia's Gazprombank deepens ties with Indian banks for bilateral trade

Gazprombank is the third-largest lender in Russia and a crucial link in the country's energy trade.

  REUTERS BY NIDHI VERMA, EDITING BY GERMÁN & CO

A view shows a board with the logo of Gazprombank at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in Saint Petersburg, Russia June 16, 2022. REUTERS/Anton Vaganov/File Photo

NEW DELHI, April 17 (Reuters) - Russia's Gazprombank has expanded its links with banks in India to expedite trade between the two countries in national currencies, a key executive told Reuters on Monday, as Russia this year has become the biggest supplier of oil to India.

Trade between India and Russia has surged since the West imposed sanctions against Russia for its invasion last year of Ukraine, which has altered flows of oil and other goods.

"We worked hard to establish our level of partnership with Indian banks and our representatives here worked hard," Elena Borisenko, deputy chairman of the board of management of Gazprombank, told Reuters on the sidelines of an India-Russia business dialogue event in New Delhi on Monday.

"Now we have infrastructure, we have payments from banks ... it is much better than it was three months ago," she added.

Gazprombank is Russia's third-largest lender by assets and a key conduit of the Russian energy trade.

Due to higher purchases of oil, the trade balance is tilted increasingly in favour of Russia. That balance could be improved through Russian companies investing in infrastructure projects in India, Borisenko said.

"We are hoping that it (trade) will be better, it will be improving, and ... payments between Russia and Indian will be more and more in national currencies," the executive said.

India last year implemented a broader framework to facilitate overseas trade in rupees and since then many foreign banks, including Gazprombank and other Russian institutions, have opened vostro accounts with Indian banks.