Putin clears Goldman Sachs' exit from Russia with sale to Armenia-based firm
Russian President Vladimir Putin approved Goldman Sachs Group Inc.'s exit from Russia on Jan. 31, allowing the U.S. firm to sell its business to the Armenia-based investment firm Balchug Capital.
Goldman Sachs entered into a binding agreement to offload its Russian subsidiary, making it one of the few Western banks to exit the country entirely, Bloomberg reported.
The decision follows a series of banking deals authorized by Putin, including a December decree allowing French bank Natixis to sell its Russian operations.
Earlier this month, the Netherlands' ING Groep NV reached an agreement to sell its Russian assets to Global Development JSC, a company owned by a Moscow-based financial investor.
Nearly three years after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, many Western banks remain operational in the country, despite earlier pledges to withdraw.
Citigroup Inc. has ceased most corporate banking services in Russia but still holds $9 billion in assets there, according to Bloomberg.
The largest Western banks operating in Russia paid €800 million ($857 million) in taxes to Moscow's budget in 2023 — four times higher than before the invasion, according to the Financial Times.
Russia's banking sector initially suffered from sweeping Western sanctions, with profits plummeting by 90% in 2022. The Kremlin has since stabilized the industry by increasing state control and expanding ties with non-Western financial institutions.
Tim Zadorozhnyy
