BlackRock Funds Incur $17-Billion Losses as Sanctions on Russia Hit

Global asset manager BlackRock has recorded some $17-billion worth of losses due to its Russian exposure, FT reported.

BlackRock has marked down a number of its Russian assets valued at $18.2 billion at the end of January due to the impact of worldwide sanctions imposed against the country after President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine.

The company halted acquisitions of Russian assets on February 28, as it said holdings involving the country have dropped to less than 0.01% of assets under management to a total value of around $1 billion at the end of February.

Chief Executive Larry Fink took to LinkedIn to comment on the matter, saying that the firm will continue “actively consulting” with regulators and other stakeholders to ensure that clients can exit Russian positions subject to regulatory and market conditions.

BlackRock has also halted trading on all of its exchange-traded fees in Russia and emerging Europe that have exposure to Russia, along with the waiver of its management fees on such funds.

BlackRock is seen to benefit should sanctions on Russia ease moving forward.