President Vladimir Putin is allowing Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to sell its business in Russia, making the US firm one of the few Western banks to fully exit the country. Putin permitted Balchug Capital to buy the division,

Goldman Sachs has entered into a binding agreement to offload its Russian subsidiary, making it one of the few Western banks to exit the country entirely, Bloomberg reported.

President Vladimir Putin has authorised Armenian investment fund Balchug Capital's purchase of Goldman Sachs' unit in Russia, a government decree published on Friday showed, potentially paving the way for the U.