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Amid the rising geopolitical tensions over Ukraine, Wall Street banking group Citi has revealed that its total exposure to Russia currently stands at nearly $10bn.
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Citi, which operates both retail and investment banking units in the country, said its net investment in Russia was approximately $1bn as of 31 December 2021.
Citi’s total third-party exposure was approximately $8.2bn at the end of 2022, which includes $2.2bn in corporate loans, $700m in consumer loans and $1.5bn in investment securities.
The US bank also has approximately $1.6bn of additional exposures to Russian counterparties that are not held on the Russian subsidiary.
Furthermore, Citi disclosed that it had cash worth $1bn in financial institutions such as the Bank of Russia and $1.8bn for reverse repurchase agreements.
Russia ranks 21st on Citi’s top 25 country exposure list.
Citi’s announcement comes as the US, UK, Japan, Switzerland and the European Union have targeted Russian banks and entities with sanctions such as cutting certain Russian lenders off from SWIFT.
Citi is currently looking to exit the consumer banking operation in Russia as part of its efforts to reduce its retail business.
According to Reuters, VTB Bank, which is among those being targeted by sanctions, was the only publicly confirmed bidder for Citi’s Russian retail arm, which further complicates the deal.
“Citi continues to monitor the current Russia–Ukraine geopolitical situation and economic conditions and will mitigate its exposures and risks as appropriate,” the lender said in its filing.
