Citigroup was unable to sell the Russian business due to the specifics of the bank’s IT infrastructure.

According to sources in the newspaper, the credit institution’s systems mainly use software from American companies Cisco and Oracle, which discontinued their distribution in the Russian Federation after the outbreak of hostilities on the territory of Ukraine. According to the newspaper’s interlocutors, the sanctions do not allow the transfer of equipment and software to a future buyer.

However, this is not the only problem, believes Vladimir Kuznetsov, a member of the board of directors of SIAB Bank. Another hurdle is the system on which Citigroup’s international IT infrastructure is built. The capacities that support the Russian business of the bank are located in several countries at once, including India.

“At the same time, the same information systems work both for the Russian Federation and for other countries in the group,” explains Kuznetsov.

In such conditions, it will not be possible to transfer all IT resources to the buyer, and it is difficult to reorganize the system, which is distributed in several countries at once.

Citibank’s press service denied the information in the article published to RIA Novosti.

“This information is not true and we do not provide further comment. We remind you that Citi is acting in accordance with the announcements made in 2022 regarding business in Russia,” the credit institution said.

In the summer, Citigroup announced the cessation of retail and banking customer service operations in the country effective August 25. It emerged last fall that Citibank also agreed to sell a portfolio of consumer loans to Uralsib.