By Tom Sims, Carolyn Cohn and Jesús Aguado

LONDON, (Reuters) – Deutsche Bank (DE:) It said that it would not completely withdraw from Russia. This angered investors, and contrasted with Wall Street banks who are cutting ties to the country because of its invasion in Ukraine.

Following a series of sanctions placed on Russia, many Western companies have joined the ranks of banks and asset mangers in pulling away from Russia.

We are frequently asked why Russia is not pulling out completely. “This would be against our values,” Christian Sewing, Chief Executive of Deutsche Bank stated in a Thursday note to staff.

He said that this would not be the best way to help clients manage their affairs and to manage client relationships.

Bill Browder was an investor fighting to expose corruption.

Satellite images showed that Russian forces were regrouped northwest of Kyiv, which was confirmed by Britain’s assertions on Friday. Britain also stated that Moscow may be planning an attack on the capital within the next few days.

Russia calls its actions in Ukraine a “special operation.”

BlueBay Asset Management’s senior emerging market strategist Tim Ash said that it wasn’t good enough for DB.

He suggested that DB might need to reexamine its ESG framework (environmental and social governance).

As a result, fund managers have begun to reevaluate their governance approach.

Goldman Sachs Group JPMorgan Chase and Inc (NYSE-:) became this week the first U.S. banks that suspended business in Russia.

Goldman Sachs had a $650m credit exposure in Russia. On Thursday, it announced that it would be closing its Russian business. According to an insider familiar with the matter, any losses will be “immaterial”.

JPMorgan stated that it is “actively dismantling Russian businesses” and wasn’t pursuing new ones.

JPMorgan’s Moscow office employs approximately 160 employees. In its latest filings, JPMorgan did not include Russia among the 20 top countries to which it is most exposed.

Marsh and Aon, two of the largest international insurance brokers (NYSE:), also announced Thursday that they had stopped operations in Russia.

Deutsche Bank stated earlier this week that its credit risk exposure towards Russia and Ukraine stood at 2.9 billion Euros ($3.18 Billion). It also said it has reduced Russia’s exposure over the last two weeks.

Credit Suisse (SIX :), Italy’s UniCredit (OTC 🙂 and France’s BNP Paribas(OTC 🙂 also revealed billions in Russia-related risk.

In an interview published in Spain’s El Mundo on Friday, Ana Botin, President of the European Banking Federation, and Executive Chairman of Santander (MC), stated that most European banks have been applying strict sanctions.

Analysts and investors worry that the possible losses by major European lenders will not pose a threat to their stability. However, it may cause them to stop their turnaround plans or stop payouts to shareholders.

European bank stocks saw some relief this week as they recouped sharp losses since the invasion.

($1 = 0.9269 Swiss francs)

($1 = 0.9119 euros)