HSBC sells Russian consumer banking division to Citigroup
HSBC has agreed to sell part of its Russian retail banking business to Citigroup in a deal valued at around $10.7m (£6.5m).
The British bank said in April that it would quit its Russian retail operations, becoming the latest in a string of international lenders to pull the plug on consumer banking in the country.
HSBC said it hoped to close the sale in the third quarter of this year. It added that it would refer its customers, upon their consent, to Citibank, which intends to offer them new account facilities.
The London-based bank left the country in order to concentrate on its commercial and wholesale banking business.
Several large international banks have struggled to crack the dominance of Russia’s state-backed giants.
HSBC’s exit follows that of Barclays, which also quit Russian consumer banking earlier this year.
Barclays boss Bob Diamond said at the time his bank was “unable to compete” in Russia.
State-owned banks control around 65 per cent of Russia’s top-100 banks’ assets, according to estimates.
Citi gained a foothold in the Russian market due to its early entry, having first established a Moscow presence in 1993.