Citigroup has decided to wind down its consumer and local commercial banking operations in Russia after failing to find a buyer for the businesses, with most potential suitors under sanctions after Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

The US bank announced the exit in a statement on Thursday after spending more than a year trying to sell the divisions as western reprisals against Russia made it all but impossible to continue operating in the country. The lender added that it “continues to actively pursue sales of certain Russian consumer banking portfolios”.

Citi said its exposure to Russia had declined to $8.4bn from $9.8bn at the end of last year. About $1bn is related to the retail and local commercial banking operations being wound down.