(Bloomberg) -- Renault SA's finance company is exploring options for its Russian joint venture following the French carmaker's decision to suspend operations in its second-largest market.
RCI Banque is assessing what to do with RN Bank, the Russian joint venture in which it owns a 30% stake. Nissan Motor Co. also has a 30% holding, with UniCredit Bank Russia owning the remaining shares, according to RN Bank's website.
Renault's finance company also entirely controls RNL Leasing, a small leasing company in Russia. RCI Banque said in a statement Friday it may have to record a non-cash adjustment against the book value of its assets in the country when it reports first-half results. The value amounted to 109 million euros ($120 million) at the end of last year.
Renault halted work at its Moscow plant on March 23, shortly after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told French lawmakers the manufacturer was among the companies that should stop supporting Russia's “war machine.” Ukraine's foreign minister and a U.K. member of parliament also had called for consumers to boycott the company's cars over its reluctance to shut down in the country.
The automaker said last week it will write down the value of its 2.2 billion euros-worth of assets in Russia, an amount equivalent to almost a third of its market capitalization. Renault is also assessing options for its more than two-thirds stake in AvtoVaz, its car venture that manufactures Lada vehicles. It's exploring an ownership transfer to a local investor as a way to exit the country, people familiar with the deliberations have said.
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