Deutsche Bank, Germany‘s largest banking institution, is scaling down operations in the Russian Federation. The bank announced its move in a statement posted on Twitter late on Friday, condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The financial conglomerate reaffirmed its support for the German government and its allies in “defending our democracy and freedom.” It also reminded it had already substantially reduced its exposure to the Russian market since 2014.
DB noted that like others in the sector, abiding by legal and regulatory obligations, the bank is now winding down its remaining business in Russia while assisting its non-Russian clients in efforts to reduce their operations in the sanctioned country. It also insisted:
There wont be any new business in Russia.
Deutsche Banks exit follows similar moves by major American investment banks Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase. Citigroup, the U.S. bank with the biggest Russian exposure, is limiting consumer business operations there as well.
Meanwhile, according to Reuters, Austrias Raiffeisen Bank International is also considering a decision to leave the Russian Federation. The report quoted sources familiar with the matter without providing more details.
Amid mounting sanctions on Russia, including cutting some of its banks from SWIFT, payment and remittance providers like Western Union, Paypal, Remitly, and Revolut suspended services for Russian users. Visa, Mastercard and American Express halted operations in the country, too. Western allies have also addressed concerns that Moscow may use crypto assets to evade sanctions.