Citibank's exit from the Russian market comes with a heavy cost. The sale of the remaining business is expected to result in a massive loss of $1.1 billion.

Citigroup (C.US) announced that it expects to incur a tax-adjusted loss of around $1.1 billion from selling its remaining business in Russia to Renaissance Capital (RenCap). According to a regulatory filing submitted on Monday, the bank plans to classify this remaining business as "held for sale" in its fourth-quarter financial report and expects to complete the sale of AO Citibank by the first half of 2026. In the face of escalating sanctions from the US and EU, Citigroup has been considering exiting the Russian market for years. Other banks have also scaled back their operations, with Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. being granted approval earlier this year to sell its business in Russia. Even before the escalation of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in 2022, Citigroup had already begun downsizing its local operations. In that year, the bank announced the gradual closure of consumer and local business banking services in Russia, and nearly ceased institutional banking operations entirely. Its website states that the remaining business is necessary only to fulfill outstanding legal and regulatory obligations. Currently, Citigroup has reached an agreement with Renaissance Capital, one of Russia's oldest investment banks, to sell its remaining business. Russian President Putin signed an order in November approving the transaction. The statement indicated that the loss is primarily due to currency translation adjustments; the bank warned that the loss amount may further change if there are fluctuations in the currency market. "The overall divestiture of the remaining business is expected to result in a positive impact on Citigroup's Common Equity Tier 1 capital, primarily due to the deconsolidation effect of related risk-weighted assets."