Shares in Raiffeisen fall after US authorities probe Russia business

Shares in Raiffeisen Bank International fell on Monday after US sanctions authorities questioned the Austrian lender about its Russian business.

The bank - Russia’s tenth largest by assets - confirmed to Reuters on Friday that it had received a request from the Office of Foreign Assets Control, part of the US Treasury Department, last month.

The request asked it to "clarify payments business and related processes maintained by RBI in light of the recent developments related to Russia and Ukraine".

RBI has previously said it is considering existing Russia in response to the invasion of Ukraine - where it also operates - but warned it would take time to dislodge itself. It has been operating in Russia since the collapse on the Soviet Union, and earlier this month posted annual profits of €3.8bn, €2.1bn of which were derived from the Russian business.

As at 1115 GMT, RBI's Vienna-listed shares were trading 7% lower.

Reuters said OFAC had initially requested that RBI respond to its request by February, but the deadline has been extended, with the last tranche of information due in June.

RBI has yet to make any official comment, although a spokesperson told Reuters it was "cooperating fully", and that it had processes in place to ensure compliance with sanctions. They added that the bank was "confident that the information provided to OFAC will satisfy their request".

The US Treasury Department has not commented.