The Goldman Sachs company logo is on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., July 13, 2021. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

March 10 (Reuters) – Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N) said on Thursday it was closing its operations in Russia, becoming the first major Wall Street bank to leave the country after Moscow invaded Ukraine .

Operating in Moscow has been increasingly difficult for Western financial institutions amid international sanctions on Russia and banks have debated whether to stay or go. While European banks have the most exposure to the country, US banks still have significant exposure, totaling $14.7 billion according to data from the Bank for International Settlements. Read more

“Goldman Sachs is ending its operations in Russia in accordance with regulatory and licensing requirements,” the bank said in an emailed statement.

A source close to the situation said Goldman would end operations rather than exit immediately. The loss due to the exit would be immaterial, the source said.

In its annual report earlier, the bank disclosed credit exposure to Russia of $650 million.

Goldman Sachs shares fell 1.5% to $328.58 in early trading. Until markets closed on Wednesday, GS had fallen 12.8% this year.

The most exposed U.S. bank is Citigroup Inc (CN), which said on Wednesday it was operating its Russian consumer business on a more limited basis while sticking to its earlier plans to divest the franchise. Read more

Other US banks operating in Russia include JPMorgan (JPM.N), which declined to comment on its plans.

In Europe, Austria’s Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) is considering leaving Russia, two people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

Banks will find it difficult to extricate themselves from the market, however, according to experts.

Dan Awrey, a professor at Cornell Law School who specializes in financial regulation, said last week that banks “cannot unilaterally withdraw from loan commitments and other types of financial claims” because “there is something one on the other side and that will make it much more complicated.” Read more

Reporting by Niket Nishant in Bengaluru and Matt Scuffham in New York; Additional reporting by David Henry in New York and Bansari Mayur Kamdar in Belgaluru; Written by Megan Davies in New York; Editing by Anil D’Silva and Mark Porter

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