The Italian financial group UniCredit has decided to liquidate its subsidiary — UniCredit Bank in Russia, definitively abandoning the option of selling this asset.
This is reported by Finway
Reasons for Abandoning the Sale of the Bank
According to informed sources, this strategy is more advantageous for UniCredit compared to selling the bank, as a sale would entail significant financial losses. Due to restrictions imposed by the Russian authorities, including discounts and mandatory payments, UniCredit could only receive about 10% of the bank’s capital in the event of a sale.
“All possible assets are currently being liquidated, the network is being scaled down, retail business in the regions has already been shut down, corporate operations are also being reduced, and staff cuts are underway, including client managers with high payouts.”
Legal Consequences and Next Steps
Lawyers note that after the liquidation process is completed, the remaining capital of UniCredit Bank will be frozen in accounts. In the future, these funds may be used for exchanges for blocked Russian assets abroad, if such agreements become possible.
In July 2025, an Italian court ordered UniCredit to completely exit the Russian market within nine months. UniCredit Bank remained one of the few European banks that continued operations in Russia after the onset of the full-scale aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine. Meanwhile, other European financial institutions, including Raiffeisen Bank International, are also facing difficulties in their attempts to exit the Russian market or sell their assets.