Austrian Raiffeisen Bank expects to sell Russian operations

Austrian banking group Raiffeisen, one of the last major Western lenders in Russia, said on Thursday it was considering a “sale or spin-off” of its subsidiary in the country.

RBI Group, which owns the bank, has been under scrutiny over its ties to Russia since Moscow invaded Ukraine last February.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky singled out Raiffeisen Bank for criticism, while the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control requested information about its business in Russia in January.

The RBI Group said on Thursday that it is considering “potential transactions that would result in the sale or spin-off of Raiffeisen Bank Russia and the deconsolidation of Raiffeisen Bank Russia from the RBI Group.”

He added that he “undertook himself to further reduce business activity in Russia.”

The bank warned that the decision would lead to a “reduction in revenue generated by Raiffeisen Bank Russia” and affect RBI customers.

“The RBI Group and its stakeholders are in an unprecedented situation and we are aware of the need for action that the war has created,” the bank said.

Raiffeisen Bank will retain some banking operations in Russia, where it employs more than 9,000 people, “to meet the conditions of its banking license and to support customers.”