Raiffeisen considers Russia exit just weeks after committing to stay

Raiffeisen Financial institution Worldwide, the Austrian lender that generates a 3rd of its earnings from Russia, is contemplating exiting the nation, simply weeks after its chief government dedicated to staying put.

The lender, which has 4.2mn prospects and 9,400 workers in Russia, mentioned on Thursday morning it was contemplating all choices for its subsidiary following the invasion of Ukraine.

“This unprecedented scenario leads RBI to contemplate its place in Russia. We’re due to this fact assessing all strategic choices for the way forward for Raiffeisenbank Russia, as much as and together with a rigorously managed exit from Raiffeisenbank in Russia,” mentioned Johann Strobl, Raiffeisen’s chief government.

Simply two weeks in the past, Strobl advised buyers: “It’s essential that you just perceive, we aren’t strolling away.”

Raiffeisen has been the toughest hit of the handful of western banks with a presence in Russia. The group’s share value has halved in current weeks.

The financial institution has €22.9bn of property in Russia, with €354mn of publicity to sanctioned monetary establishments and €119mn to different sanctioned firms.

UniCredit, one other European lender with a big publicity to Russia, introduced this week it was additionally contemplating exiting, whereas a number of huge funding banks — together with JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Financial institution — have mentioned they deliberate to depart.