The ECB urges banks to quicken their exit from the Russian Market.

The European Central Bank is pushing lenders from the region that still have operations in Russia to accelerate plans to shrink or exit units in the market after President Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, reported Bloomberg.

“I have repeatedly and publicly expressed concerns about the disappointingly slow progress made by banks in reducing risks stemming from ongoing operations in the Russian market,” said the Chair of the ECB Supervisory Board, Andrea Enria in a letter to members of the European Parliament.

Banks overseen by the ECB cut their Russia exposure 37% last year, with an acceleration in the fourth quarter, Enria said. EU banks have about €45B of total exposure to Russia as of the first quarter, or nearly half of the figure reported just after the February invasion of Ukraine. With more than €20B, Raiffeisen is by far the most exposed bank in Russia followed by UniCredit and OTP.