Austria-based Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) has announced its decision to sell its stake in its Belarusian subsidiary, Priorbank. This marks the first step towards fully withdrawing from the Belarusian market. After more than six months of negotiations, RBI has signed an agreement to sell its 87.74% stake in Priorbank to Soven 1 Holding Limited, an investor from the United Arab Emirates.
RBI has faced criticism from Western institutions for continuing its business in Russia and Belarus, which has been seen as supporting Russia’s war through paying taxes. Despite pressure to fully withdraw from the Russian market, the bank had initially announced in July 2024 that it would only reduce its operations in the country. However, after receiving a letter from the European Parliament in April urging them to comply with EU sanctions, RBI eventually decided to “drastically” reduce its activities in Russia.
The European Central Bank has also requested that RBI scale back its business in Russia by 2026. The sale of Priorbank is expected to result in a loss of around 300 million euros ($335 million) for RBI, as the purchase price is lower than the book value of the equity of Priorbank.
According to RBI’s press release on Sept. 20, the completion of this transaction will allow the bank to successfully withdraw from the Belarusian market and reduce operational complexity in line with its risk mitigation strategy in Eastern Europe. However, a recent ruling by a Russian court has banned the transfer of Raiffeisen shares, which may cause further delays in RBI’s exit from Russia.
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