MOSCOW, Nov 12 (Reuters) -

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday gave the green

light for Citibank to sell what remains of what was once one of

the largest foreign-owned banks in Russia, which serviced the

Russian operations of major U.S. firms.

Local investment bank Renaissance Capital, part of a

shrinking pool of Russian banks not under Western sanctions, was

named as the buyer in a decree by Putin that was published on

the Kremlin's website.

Under measures introduced by Russia to counter

Ukraine-related Western sanctions, the deal required

presidential approval to proceed.

"We can only confirm the news that has been released so

far, but without additional details," Renaissance said.

Citibank in Russia did not respond to a request for

comment.

Citibank announced in August 2022 that, as part of its

ongoing efforts to reduce its operations and exposure in Russia,

it would wind down its consumer banking and local commercial

banking operations.

"As of 2025, Citi's only operations in Russia are those

necessary to fulfill its remaining legal and regulatory

obligations," the bank said in a statement earlier this year.

Only a handful of Western banks are operating in Russia,

providing a link to the Western financial system for remaining

Western businesses. The largest are Austria's Raiffeisen,

Italy's Unicredit and Hungary's OTP.