View of the international business center »Moskva City«
Photo: AP
The American Citibank and the Austrian Raiffeisen Bank International together placed hundreds of job advertisements in Russia in July.
According to the Reuters news agency, this is shown on the website of the job portal Headhunter.
In April to June, on the other hand, there were very few positions, the recruiter explained.
The reason for the search for personnel is that the Russian authorities are blocking the banks from withdrawing.
After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, many Western banks had removed Russian employees from management positions and explored options for exiting the market.
However, according to Reuters, the Western sanctions against Russia have limited the scope for financial institutions, according to industry circles.
Foreign banks hold 11 percent of total bank capital in Russia
In contrast to other industrial or trading companies, Russia does not want to simply let the banks go.
Deputy Finance Minister Alexei Moiseyev said that Russia would block the sale of Russian subsidiaries of foreign banks until Russian financial institutions abroad were fully operational again.
In addition, the Russian central bank refuses to take over the local business of the banks.
According to insiders, she fears depositors could withdraw their funds in such a move.
According to Reuters, an industry representative explained that after the banks realized that they could not leave Russia, the rethinking began - and with it the search for staff.
The share of foreign banks in total bank capital in Russia was eleven percent at the end of 2021.
Raiffeisen, Citi and Italy's Unicredit are the three largest foreign banking players on the market.
Citi actually wanted to completely separate from its activities with Russian private and business customers.
The Raiffeisen Bank also examined the options for the future of the business.
According to headhunters, the Austrians advertised 276 jobs in Russia in July.
Citi plans to hire 86 new employees.
According to Reuters, the US bank declined to comment, and Raiffeisen was initially unavailable for comment.
The Italian banks Intesa and the Russian subsidiary of Unicredit also posted job advertisements.
tfb/Reuters
