People walk under the Citibank branch logo in the financial district of San Francisco, California on July 17, 2009. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith
Aug 25, 2010 Wall Street giant Citigroup Inc. is expected to close its consumer and commercial banking businesses in Russia starting this quarter, taking a charge of about $170 million over the next 18 months, the company said Thursday.
Bank of America, which holds the largest position in Russia, announced plans to exit the retail business in April 2021 as part of a broader departure from some overseas markets. It expanded the scope of that exit in March to include a local commercial bank after Russia invaded Ukraine, but has been unable to find a buyer for either business.
The closure will affect 2,300 of Citi’s 3,000 employees in Russia at 15 branches, the bank said. Citi joins other major Wall Street players that have closed or announced plans to close operations in Russia in response to sanctions imposed by Western countries.
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Citigroup in 2010 On June 30, Russia’s exposure was $8.4 billion. Read more
“We have explored several strategic options for selling these businesses over the past several months,” Citi Legacy Franchise CEO T.T. Cole said in a statement. “Given the many complexities in the environment, it’s clear that the way they wind down makes the most sense.”
The exit will affect deposit accounts, investments, loans and cards.
Chief Executive Jane Fraser took the helm last year as the Wall Street giant pulled out of non-core markets and moved to reduce its shrinking overseas footprint, recently reaching deals to sell consumer businesses in Bahrain and India.
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Reporting by Lannh Nguyen in New York and Manya Sani in Bengaluru; By Shinjini Ganguly and Shailesh Kuber, Editing by Kirsten Donovan
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