European bank shares volatile; Russia's Sberbank exits Europe

European banks braced for more volatility on Wednesday after two days of steep losses as the crisis in Ukraine drags on, and after the European arm of Russia's Sberbank was forced to close.

An index of leading European bank stocks fell 5.6% on Tuesday and 4.5% on Monday. Some leading European stock futures opened down on Wednesday.

Wednesday's trading comes against a backdrop of Russia showing little sign of stopping its assault, as U.S. President Joe Biden warned Vladimir Putin that the Russian leader "has no idea what's coming". Russia calls its actions in Ukraine a "special operation".

Among the heaviest hit bank shares so far this week is Austria's Raiffeisen Bank International, which is also looking into leaving Russia, two people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters, a move that would make it the first European bank to do so since the country's invasion of Ukraine.

Overnight, the European arm of Sberbank, Russia's biggest lender, was closed by order of the European Central Bank, which had warned it faced failure due to a run on deposits after Russia invaded Ukraine, Austria's Financial Market Authority said.

Sberbank said on Thursday that it was leaving the European market as its subsidiaries there faced large cash outflows and threats to the safety of employees and property.

Sberbank, which operates in Austria, Croatia, Germany and Hungary among other nations, had European assets worth 13 billion euros by Dec. 31, 2020.