The Central Bank has identified nearly €50bn in direct financial links between Irish economic sectors and Russian entities after the EU moved to freeze Russian-owned assets within its borders as Russia's assault on Ukraine continues to escalate.
A CSO analysis discloses that the Cental Bank has identified the bulk of the €49.8bn worth of Russian assets at the end of 2021 were held by special purpose entities (SPEs), which it defines as a legal entity created to fulfil narrow, specific or temporary objectives.
SPEs held some €37.1bn in Russian-issued assets, primarily loans issued to Russian companies from the SPE, and there were 33 Russian-sponsored SPEs identified with total assets of €35.5bn, accounting for 8% of the non-securitisation SPE sector.
Some 12 vehicles sponsored by Russian non-financial corporations held assets of €21.9bn. They primarily engage in external financial activity, issuing debt from the Irish special purpose vehicle to raise funds for their parent company.
The Central Bank said the assets and number of Russian-sponsored SPEs have declined over the past five years.
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Investment funds, meanwhile, held €11.5bn in Russian-issued assets at the end of 2021, equivalent to 0.3% of total assets held by investment funds, with exchange traded funds accounting for 27% of holdings.
Debt securities amounted to €5.1bn, of which 99% is in government bonds; equity holdings totalled €5.9bn, of which NFCs held €4.3bn, banks €1.4bn and other financial entities €186m; and other assets made up €446m, mainly representing overdraft positions.
Irish-authorised banks had €1.7bn exposure of on (€1.1bn) and off (€600m) balance sheet assets and liabilities to Russian counterparties, the majority of which was held by international banks in Ireland, equating to 0.1% of such assets held by Irish banks.
The remaining economic sectors including other financial intermediaries (€20m) and NFCs (€2m) also had limited holding of financial instruments issued by Russian entities. Irish households hold around €1m in Russian assets.
The CSO data comes after Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney said that more Russian banks would be banned from SWIFT, Russian ships would be stopped from entering EU ports, and some Russian exports would be prohibited in the next round of EU sanctions.
The Russian rouble has sunk to all-time lows this week as Moscow has been hit by extensive sanctions by western nations as President Vladimir Putin forges ahead with the invasion of neighbouring Ukraine.
The currency remains highly volatile and the Moscow Exchange has been largely closed all week under restrictions imposed by Russia's central bank.
Russia and Ukraine on Thursday agreed to humanitarian corridors to help civilians escape the conflict, but no other major resolutions.
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