OREANDA-NEWS. June 16, 2011. ZAO HSBC has selected ZAO Citibank as its preferred bank partner as it exits retail banking operations in Russia. HSBC's retail clients in Moscow and St. Petersburg will have the option to transfer their current and deposit accounts to Citibank Russia through a standard bank account opening procedure. Financial terms of the transaction are not disclosed and are subject to final number of clients' accounts and their total assets and liabilities to be transferred to Citibank.

In addition, through its wholly owned subsidiary HSBC Russia, HSBC has agreed to sell certain elements of its Russian retail banking business to ZAO Citibank. The gross asset value of the businesses to be sold was approximately RUR305.8 million (USD 10.7 million) as of March 31, 2011.

Zdenek Turek, President of ZAO Citibank and Head of Citi Russia & CIS, said: "This agreement builds on Citibank's strategy to become the leading bank in Russia for middle class, emerging affluent and affluent clients. Russia is a priority market for Citibank globally, where it has been developing its footprint and client portfolio organically since the launch of consumer banking in 2002."

Amit Sah, Consumer Business Manager for Citibank Russia, said, "We welcome new clients to Citibank and assure them that we will do everything we can to make this transition seamless and beneficial for them. We are looking forward to offering our new and valued customers the best of Citi's technological capabilities, responsive service and unique products."