Bank of America interrupted an online geopolitics conference for clients and apologized to participants after pro-Russian comments were made during the event about the war in Ukraine, writes the Financial Times.

The conference was scheduled as a two-day event that began on Tuesday, but Bank of America security canceled three sessions on U.S. sanctions on Russia and U.S.-Russia relations..

The move comes after some customers complained about the tone of speakers' comments during Tuesday's online forums.. One of the bank's strategists called clients after the event to apologize for the content of Tuesday's meetings, three sources said..

Timothy Ash of BlueBay Asset Management, a Russian specialist who attended the conference, told the FT he doesn't understand why American banks are putting up speakers with such a pro-Russian vision at client events..

“It is obvious that Moscow is waging an information war with the West. She is interested in influencing how Western banks portray the conflict, and banks should remember this, ”he emphasized..

Bank of America said the meeting was one of many attended by external speakers and was meant to help clients understand the issues affecting their investment decisions..

“Our external speakers are all independent and the differing views expressed are their own.. We apologized to those customers who expressed their dissatisfaction with some of the opinions expressed, ”the bank said in a statement..

Investment banks often use speakers with conflicting views to provide their clients with a wider range of opinions.. However, some of those present at Tuesday's event said it was unusual for such one-sided views to be presented without other points of view to balance..

“It was more like the Bank of Russia than the Bank of America. The whole event was exclusively pro-Russian,” said one of those present..

Another person called Tuesday's meeting " Two participants in the conversation said that Daniel Sheenan, senior vice president of international relations at BofA Securities, was critical of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, describing him as a "

A BofA spokesman said the bank disagreed with this interpretation of Sheehan's remarks and they were made to reflect the views of others and not his own..

One of those present also said that one of the speakers, Nikolai Petro, a professor of political science at the University of Rhode Island, “said absolutely shocking things... it was just like from the mouth of the Russian Foreign Ministry”. However, Petro denied such sayings and shared with the publication the text of his alleged speech..

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“Under any scenario, Ukraine will be the main loser in the war. Its industrial potential will be devastated, in part due to its economic policies aimed at becoming an agricultural superpower, as recommended by the EU and the United States, and its population will continue to decline as people look for work abroad,” it says..

He added that the US government is not interested in a ceasefire, as it benefits most from a long conflict due to "