Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) has announced the sale of its Belarusian subsidiary at a loss to an investor from the United Arab Emirates, as the bank faces increasing pressure to divest its Russian operations, Reuters report.
RBI had pledged to withdraw from Russia following growing pressure from international regulators on the largest Western bank still operating in the country. However, over two years after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, little has changed. The sale of the Belarus unit suggests RBI is moving to cut ties with countries within Moscow’s sphere of influence.
The deal is expected to result in a loss of around 300 million euros, implying that the local bank was sold for roughly half of its 600-million-euro capital. The Belarusian bank held deposits of around 2 billion euros and employed over 1,600 people.
The sale is set to close by the end of this year, with Soven 1 Holding, owned by Suhail Al Otaiba from the UAE, listed as the ultimate beneficiary.
RBI has been a critical financial channel for millions of Russian customers seeking to send euros or dollars abroad, though it has recently scaled back these services. Western regulators, including the European Central Bank (ECB), are pushing for RBI to reduce its presence in Russia.
With significant industrial holdings, over 18 million clients, and 44,000 employees stretching from Vienna to Moscow, RBI is a financial hub for Austria and much of Eastern Europe. Russia has remained a major profit source for the bank since the Ukraine conflict began in 2022, contributing nearly half of its group profits in the first three months of this year due to surging taxes on foreign payments.
