Citibank, the Russian subsidiary of US banking giant Citigroup, will wind down its remaining operations in Russia from Nov. 1, marking the final step in its exit from the country, Reuters reported on October 3.
The lender said it would cease paying interest and close support for all savings and deposit accounts from that date, urging clients to transfer any remaining funds to other banks as soon as possible.
Citibank, once among the largest Western banks in Russia, had already halted debit card services, money transfers, ATM withdrawals and transactions via the Central Bank’s Faster Payments System in 2024. It also closed its last retail branch near Moscow’s Paveletskaya metro station in November that year.
Citigroup first announced plans to sell its Russian consumer business in 2021, but decided to shut operations entirely after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Since then, its loan portfolio has contracted by 98%, while deposits from individuals and corporate clients have plunged between 90 and 150 times.
Other European lenders are also scaling back. Austria’s Raiffeisen Bank International, the largest Western bank still operating in Russia, stopped most cross-border transfers last August. Italy’s UniCredit said last week it would stop accepting new corporate clients and raise account servicing fees by up to tenfold.
Both banks face pressure from the European Central Bank to reduce their exposure to Russia. Meanwhile, Societe Generale, ING and Goldman Sachs have already exited the market, while Raiffeisen’s planned withdrawal has reportedly been blocked by the Kremlin, which seeks to maintain financial ties with Europe amid ongoing energy trade flows.
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