Main points
- UniCredit, Italy's second-largest bank, has no plans to liquidate its business in Russia, despite demands from the European Central Bank to reduce its presence in the sanctions-hit country.
- The bank is gradually reducing its business in Russia, but continues to support international companies in making payments.
Italian UniCredit does not want to stop business in Russia / Depositphotos
Italy's second-largest bank, UniCredit, has no plans to liquidate its business in Russia. Nor does it want to return the banking license that its local “subsidiary” has held throughout the four years of the full-scale war in Ukraine.
Why isn't the bank leaving Russia?
Representatives of the Italian bank reported this in a written statement, Reuters reports.
Following some speculative rumors in the media, UniCredit confirms that there have been no changes to the strategy we are implementing and consistently communicating to the market regarding operations in Russia,
– the statement says.
As of February 2022, UniCredit controlled one of the 15 largest banks in Russia.
The CEO of the Italian bank, Andrea Orcel, previously stated that he did not plan to close down business in the territory of the aggressor state in order not to harm his shareholders. After all, the cessation of operations in Russia would lead to billions in losses.
However, the European Central Bank is demanding a reduction in its presence in the country under sanctions. Therefore, UniCredit is forced to gradually reduce its business in Russia, although it is not completely stopping it.
Our operations in Russia are a small and highly specialized business that supports international companies in making payments – particularly in euros and US dollars – and maintaining their connection to the Western world,
– explained their position at UniCredit.
Why did the bank make the statement?
The bank issued this statement after the publication of the Russian newspaper Kommersant. It said that UniCredit was considering the possibility of liquidating its business in the country and even wanted to give up its banking license.
Citing its own sources, the publication claimed that the Italian bank refused to sell its business in Russia. Liquidation is allegedly more profitable, because in the event of a sale, the financial institution could receive only about 10% of its equity due to discounts and mandatory payments established by the Russian authorities.
Currently, all possible assets are being sold off, the network is being closed down, the retail business in the regions has already been closed, the corporate business is also being closed down, staff is being reduced, in particular, customer service managers with large compensations,
– the material said.
In addition, it was noted that after the completion of the business liquidation procedure, the remaining capital of UniCredit will allegedly be frozen in accounts. However, it can be used in the future to exchange for blocked Russian assets abroad.
Important! An Italian court ordered UniCredit to leave its business in Russia within nine months in July 2025. The bank later stated that it was making “galactic efforts” to comply with the requirements of European law.
What famous companies continue to do business in Russia?
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After the outbreak of full-scale war, the American company PepsiCo announced that it would stop selling its drinks in Russia, but it did not completely leave the market. It continued to produce snacks and dairy products, and in 2024 even opened a new plant near Novosibirsk.
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Procter & Gamble has chosen a similar strategy. The company reduced investments and advertising activity, but did not leave the Russian market. It focused on the production of essential goods, in particular hygiene products. At the same time, during 2021-2023, the corporation continued to receive profits from its activities in Russia.
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Italy's Ferrero also announced a reduction in operations, but in fact increased its exports to Russia by about a third. According to available data, the company's revenue in the Russian market reached $743 million, and the value of its assets was estimated at $458 million.
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In Ukraine, the activities of such companies have drawn sharp criticism. In particular, the NACP has included a number of international corporations, including PepsiCo, Mars, and Procter & Gamble, on the list of so-called international sponsors of the war.