The Kyiv Independent launches YouTube series
Skip to content
A man walks past the logo of Raiffeisen Bank seen atop a building in Moscow on April 3, 2023. (Alexander Nemenov/AFP via Getty Images) 
This audio is created with AI assistance

Austria's Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) is making plans to begin its exit from the country in the summer of 2024, Russian media reported on May 3, citing the company's chairman, Johann Strobl.

The Vienna-based bank group, the largest remaining Western bank in Russia, has been under increasing pressure since the start of Russia's all-out war to scale down its activities in the country.

The European Parliament sent Austrian officials a letter in April, urging them to compel Raiffeisen to cease its activities in Russia in compliance with EU sanctions.

The letter came just days after Raiffeisen said that it expected European regulators to request an acceleration of the bank's withdrawal from Russia, and that it would comply with those requests.

The bank also said the European Central Bank (ECB) will soon ask Raiffeisen to significantly decrease loans to customers in Russia by 2026. Raiffeisen said it would abide by this request and eventually sell its Russian subsidiary.

The decision to finally exit from Russia is related to the ECB requirements, Strobl reportedly said.

Strobl added that the most attractive option for Raiffeisen to fully end its operations in Russia would be to sell its subsidiary there to another foreign company. Other possible Russian buyers are already sanctioned, he said.  

FT: Western banks paid 4 times more taxes to Russia in 2023 than before all-out war
The largest Western banks that continue to operate in Russia have paid 800 million euros ($857 million) in taxes to its budget in 2023, which is four times more than before Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Financial Times (FT) reported, citing its analysis.

News Feed

MORE NEWS

Editors' Picks

Enter your email to subscribe
Please, enter correct email address
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required

Subscribe

* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Explaining Ukraine with Kate Tsurkan
* indicates required
Successfuly subscribed
Thank you for signing up for this newsletter. We’ve sent you a confirmation email.