Goldman Sachs becomes first major Wall Street bank to exit Russia amid Ukraine invasion

Goldman Sachs is shutting down its operations in Russia following the country’s invasion of Ukraine.

The company will become the first major Wall Street bank to do so, but other financial institutions have independently moved to restrict access to their services in Russia.

“Goldman Sachs is winding down its business in Russia in compliance with regulatory and licensing requirements,” a spokesperson for the company said in an email to The Block on Thursday. “We are focused on supporting our clients across the globe in managing or closing out pre-existing obligations in the market and ensuring the wellbeing of our people.”

Goldman Sachs had already started to relocate part of its staff out from Russia to Dubai days before, according to Bloomberg, which first broke the news.

Numerous payments firms, including PayPal, Mastercard and Visa, have also moved to exit the Russian market. 

Western Union announced on Thursday that it would suspend operations in Russia and Belarus, saying in a statement that it “stands with the world in condemning the unprovoked and unjustified invasion of Ukraine.”

Likewise, fintech firms like Revolut, Zepz (previously known as WorldRemit), Wise, TransferGo and Remitly have decided to ban transfers in Russia and Belarus.

Citigroup, which announced it would shut down its consumer banking operations in Russia and a handful of other countries last year, put out a statement on Wednesday saying that as they work toward the exit they would be “operating that business on a more limited basis given current circumstances and obligations.”