Goldman Sachs announces the suspension of operations in Russia

The investment bank Goldman Sachs announced the suspension of its activities in Russia, thus becoming the first large Wall Street bank to announce a measure that has already been previously adopted by numerous multinational companies.

The financial institution spread the news through an official statement stating: “Goldman Sachs is closing its business in Russia in compliance with regulatory and licensing requirements.”

Likewise, they maintain that they will continue to support their clients around the world in the “management or closing of pre-existing obligations in the market and guarantee the well-being of our people.”

After the decision, Goldman Sachs shares fell 2.43 % on Wall Street by mid-morning, on a bad day for the financial sector.

Russia with little impact on the business

Goldman Sachs Groups Inc has been present in Russia in recent years, but according to information provided by the entity “the country does not represent a significant part of its global banking business“, some 650 million dollars in credit risk by 2021.

Goldman’s exit is more symbolic as it is the first financial institution to suspend its operations as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which could induce a cascade of similar movements to other entities, as has happened with companies in other sectors.

Other US banks also have little presence in Russia. One of them is Citigroup, which has 3,000 employees at its Russian offices and had $9.8 billion in loans, assets and venture capital by the end of 2021.

M. Rodríguez

Source: iproup.com