Citigroup is going further with efforts to exit Russia beyond selling its consumer bank which was already underway before Russia invaded Ukraine last month.
“We are moving with urgency to complete our assessment of our operations in Russia,” said Citi executive vice-president for global public affairs Edward Skyler in a statement. “In April 2021, we announced our intent to exit our consumer business in the country. We have now decided to expand the scope of that exit process to include other lines of business and continue to reduce our remaining operations and exposure.”
The move follows announcements last week by JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs, who said they would withdraw from Russia in the wake of the country's invasion of Ukraine and coordinated sanctions leveled against the country, businesses and individuals, led by the United States and the European Union.
Citi said it will continue to manage its existing regulatory commitments and obligations to depositors, but has decided to stop soliciting any new business or clients in Russia.
The bank said it is also providing assistance to multinational corporations in the process of unwinding their operations in Russia.
JP Morgan said it has "been actively unwinding Russian business and have not been pursuing any new business in Russia in compliance with directives by governments around the world".
Goldman also said it is winding down its business in Russia "in compliance with regulatory and licensing requirements."
The list of banks exiting Russia is growing with German based Deutsche Bank too saying it would wind down its business in the country.
"We are in the process of winding down our remaining business in Russia while we help our non-Russian multinational clients in reducing their operations," Deutsche said.