President Vladimir Putin has allowed Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to sell its business in Russia, making it one of the few Western banks to fully exit the country. 

Putin signed a decree permitting Balchug Capital to purchase Goldman’s division. According to a source who asked to remain anonymous, Goldman has signed a binding agreement to sell its subsidiary. It is the most recent in a series of banking transactions that Putin has permitted. In December, he issued an order for Natixis to sell its operations in the nation. This month, ING Groep NV consented to sell its Russian operations to Global Development JSC, a business headed by a financial investor with headquarters in Moscow. A representative for Goldman chose not to respond. 

The founder and CEO of Balchug Capital, David Amaryan, said in a statement, "We have worked closely with all the relevant authorities to ensure that this transaction is in full compliance with all local and international laws and sanction regulations." “The bank will play a key role in our portfolio.” The Armenian investor, with total assets of around $2 billion, is set to make a significant acquisition. Goldman Sachs has been operating in Russia since 1998, and the unit ranks 230th in terms of assets among domestic banks, as reported by Interfax.

Many Western lenders still run sizable, increasingly lucrative operations in Ukraine over three years after Russia's full-scale invasion, despite public promises to shut them down. For example, Citigroup Inc. has stopped providing nearly all of its institutional banking services in Russia, despite still having $9 billion in Russian assets.