Austrian lender Raiffeisenbank is planning to close its branches in Russia’s far east to save costs after witnessing drop in banking sector profits.
The bank will shut 15 offices, located in the towns of Barnaul, Bratsk, Ivanovo, Izhevsk, Tolyatti and Chita by the end of October, 2015, and will stop issuing and refinancing car loans.
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However, Raiffeisen is planning to open six new branches in Moscow.
Raiffeisenbank said: "In the current environment, it is important to be efficient and profitable. In the development of our sales network, we will focus on those cities where our offices show sufficient profitability."
Raiffeisen Bank International has posted losses of 493m ($542m) in 2014 largely due to difficulties in Ukraine and Hungary.
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