ZURICH/MOSCOW (Reuters) - Credit Suisse (SIX:CSGN) plans to close its booking platform for its private banking business in Russia, the bank said on Monday, the latest move in a major restructure by Switzerland's second-largest lender.
"Credit Suisse has revised its private banking offering in Russia and will continue providing advisory services for private banking customers in Russia but without onshore booking," Zurich-based Credit Suisse said in a statement, confirming an earlier report by Forbes.
The move will mean wealthy Russians who bank with Credit Suisse will book their money outside Russia, something which is already the case for many clients.
It is expected to have a negligible impact on the bank's headcount in Russia and will not impact Credit Suisse's onshore investment banking operations in Russia.
Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn) decided to cut back on its investment banking activities in Russia last year as part of a program to shrink its global spread of businesses under new Chief Executive John Cryan.
Western investment banks have closed or scaled back their operations as the Russian economy shrank under pressure from falling commodity prices and sanctions.