HSBC Completes Sale of Russian Banking Unit to Expobank
HSBC has officially transferred ownership of its Russian unit to Expobank for an undisclosed fee, marking the end of around two years of negotiations and uncertainty. The decision to exit Russia was made back in February, when Russian President Vladimir Putin approved the asset sale to privately owned Expobank.
Expobank confirmed the successful completion of the deal, with HSBC later verifying the transfer of ownership to the Russian lender. “Economic ownership of HSBC Russia has been transferred to Expobank,” HSBC stated. The transaction is set to finalize once the legal title transfer is registered in the State Corporate Register.
The sale of a 100% stake in HSBC Bank (RR) LLC to Expobank was initially announced by HSBC in June 2022. The move comes amidst increasing pressure on European banks to withdraw from Russia, with HSBC halting commercial payments to and from Russia and Belarus in September 2023 due to sanctions.
Expobank, which was sanctioned by the United States in December, has stated that the unit will continue to operate under a new, unspecified name. European banks like Raiffeisen Bank International and UniCredit have also faced calls to exit Russia, with Intesa Sanpaolo working to dispose of its Russian business following Putin’s approval in September 2023.
Since the announcement of its exit from Russia, HSBC has downsized its already small unit, which had a revenue of about $15 million out of the group’s revenue of over $50 billion. The Russian unit employed approximately 200 people before the conflict in Ukraine.