Orbán: Transferring Russian Assets Without Corresponding Liabilities Could Bankrupt Euroclear
Key Facts
Euroclear Chief Executive Valérie Urbain warned that transferring frozen Russian assets to Ukraine while leaving the legal liabilities with the institution could lead to its bankruptcy, in an interview published by Le Soir on 13 November 2026, according to a Reuters report carried by Euronext. Transferring the assets alone, without the corresponding liabilities, “would lead to Euroclear’s bankruptcy,” Urbain said. The warning puts the institution’s obligation to repay the funds at the heart of the European debate over using frozen assets to support Ukraine. Reuters reported that EU countries froze about 210 billion euros in Russian central bank assets after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Euroclear holds about 185 billion euros of those assets, representing more than 80% of its balance sheet, according to the report.
Urbain said any transfer of the assets would require permanent guarantees from EU countries, remaining in force until the war ends or Euroclear’s obligation to repay the funds ends. The condition links the fate of the assets to that of the corresponding liability: in her view, the institution must not be left responsible for repaying the funds after the assets have been transferred elsewhere. Urbain previously described cash leaving while Euroclear retained the repayment obligation as the “worst-case scenario,” in an interview with Le Monde published on 15 November 2025. She said an arrangement to finance a loan to Ukraine could leave the institution responsible for repaying the funds without retaining the corresponding asset. She added that Russia could seek repayment if sanctions were lifted, making the proposed guarantees dependent as well on the fate of the sanctions.
The warning comes amid a European dispute over using the assets themselves: some European countries want to disburse them to Ukraine, while Belgium opposes the plan, Reuters reported. Separately, Euroclear shareholders approved transferring income from the assets to the European Commission for Ukraine, and the transferred income had reached nearly 8 billion euros by 13 November 2026. This approach uses the returns generated by the assets, while broader European proposals concern the frozen assets themselves. The differing positions reflect the sensitivity of transferring an asset while the right to claim it remains in place. The interview report provided no further details on when the European plan would be decided.
Euroclear is already facing multiple proceedings in Russian courts, including a lawsuit brought by the Russian central bank over the freezing of sovereign assets under EU sanctions, according to the company’s statement on its third-quarter results. The company said a Moscow court of first instance ruled in favor of the Russian central bank on 15 May 2026. Euroclear’s initial appeal was rejected on 16 July, followed by the rejection of its cassation appeal on 22 October of the same year. These developments place the lawsuit within existing legal exposure, rather than a mere possibility linked to any future transfer. Urbain also said in a November 2025 interview that assets belonging to Euroclear clients, worth between 20 and 40 billion euros, were frozen in Russia, and that more than 100 lawsuits were pending in Moscow.
Euroclear data showed that the bank’s total balance sheet stood at 244 billion euros at the end of September 2026, of which 204 billion euros was linked to Russian assets subject to sanctions. From the start of the year through the end of September, interest income generated by those assets was 3.6 billion euros, down 6% year on year because of lower interest rates. The company said Russian sanctions and countermeasures reduced business income by 27 million euros over the same period. Direct costs totaled 233 million euros, including 162 million euros in provisions for claims before Russian courts. These figures show the financial impact reported by the company through the end of September, while the bankruptcy warning is attributed to Urbain in the 13 November interview.