Deutsche Bank, BNP Baribas and Crédit Agricole to Leave Russia

Deutsche Bank was the first to go of the big European banks, officially announcing it will shut down business in Russia due to the ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

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Now, BNP Paribas and Crédit Agricole are to end all their business operations in Russia, becoming the latest international banks to sever ties with corporate clients in the country.

"Like some international peers and in line with our legal and regulatory obligations, we are in the process of winding down our remaining business in Russia while we help our non-Russian multinational clients in reducing their operations,"Deutsche Bank said in a statement."There won't be any new business in Russia."

After this announcement, the bank's shares rose more than 8%.

BNP, which had already said it would halt new financing deals, has now said it will stop processing other types of transactions.

French peer Crédit Agricole, which similarly only has investment banking activities in Russia, later said it would also halt all commercial activity there.

The lenders said they were now informing Russian clients. Their decision highlights the contrasting approaches of banks to the crisis, with some grappling with how to continue to run their local Russian operations and others leaving.

Earlier this month, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan announced that they were unwinding their Russian businesses, becoming the first major U.S. banks to exit following Russia's invasion of Ukraine and putting pressure on rivals to follow.

Source: Payments Cards and Mobile