Citi Ends Local Banking In Russia—Joining Long List Of Companies Exiting Country - Forbes

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Topline

Citigroup will wind down its local banking operations with Russia, the bank said Thursday morning, as the U.S. bank with the closest remaining ties to Russia seeks to further sever ties with the country and join other major multinationals exiting after the country’s invasion of Ukraine in February.

Key Facts

The bank will gradually bring its Russian consumer and commercial banking businesses to an end, Citi announced, and look to sell some of its local banking portfolios.

Citi said it expects a $170 million loss by opting for a wind-down, and the announcement comes after Citi pursued a sale of its Russian operations to local buyers for several months.

Titi Cole, Citi's CEO of legacy franchises, said in a statement taking the wind-down route instead of a sale is due to “many complicating factors in the environment.”

The move will affect about 2,300 employees across 15 branches in the country.

The Wall Street Journal first reported the news.

Big Number

$8.4 billion. That’s how much exposure to Russia Citi had at the end of last quarter, by far the most of any Wall Street firm. That is, however, down 14% from Citi’s $9.8 billion Russian exposure at the end of 2021.

Tangent

Citi announced in March it was assessing how to significantly reduce its Russian presence, but noted the “decision will take time to execute.” A host of major multinational companies have fully exited Russia in wake of the war, including McDonald’s, Starbucks and Nike.

Surprising Fact

American banks including Citi, JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America have resumed trading Russian corporate and sovereign debt after putting such transactions on hold over uncertainty about the legality of such transactions under U.S. sanctions, Bloomberg and Reuters reported last week.