Citigroup Leaves Russia

Citigroup Inc (NYSE: C) announced Monday that it will increase its withdrawal from Russia, and not accept new clients, as it further reduces its exposure to Russia. This raises the possibility of it taking billions in losses.

Citigroup is exposed to Russia at nearly $10 billion, which is the highest of any U.S. bank. It had previously warned that it could lose almost half of this amount in the worst-case scenario. 

Citigroup did not comment Monday on the financial implications of the decision.

Before the invasion of Ukraine, the bank had planned to sell its Russian consumer business. Last week, the bank stated that it would continue to sell the franchise while operating that business on a smaller scale.

“We have now decided that we will expand the scope for that exit process in order to include other business lines and continue to reduce operations and exposure,” Edward Skyler said Monday.

According to someone familiar with the matter, Citigroup will also cease Russian wealth management and institutional clients.

Citigroup’s decision follows JPMorgan Chase & Co and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Last week, Citigroup announced that they would be closing down their Russian operations and will not pursue new business. Similar moves have been made by European lenders like Deutsche Bank. 

Skyler stated that the bank had also decided to cease soliciting new clients or businesses in Russia. Skyler stated that the bank has reaffirmed its previous commitment to provide assistance to multinational corporations, many of which are currently undergoing the difficult task of dissolving their operations.

Skyler stated that Citigroup’s withdrawal from the bank will take some time due to “the nature of financial services operations and banking.”