Italy’s UniCredit Sells Russian Subsidiary

Italy’s second largest bank, UniCredit, announced Thursday it was selling part of its Russian subsidiary AO Bank to a private investor based in the United Arab Emirates.

UniCredit is one of the last European banks in Russia, with most exiting after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and the subsequent imposition of sanctions by the European Union and the United States.

After years of reducing its exposure, the bank said it had signed a non-binding agreement to sell part of AO Bank to a “well-established private investor in the UAE with long-standing ties to the local institutional and business community”.

Unicredit said the deal, expected to be closed in the first half of 2027, will hit profits by 3.0-3.3 billion euros but have an overall capital benefit.

UniCredit will keep some of AO Bank’s activities under a separate entity that it owns.

“The agreement accelerates UniCredit’s refocusing of its operations in Russia mainly around international payments primarily in Euros and USD for Western and Russian non-sanctioned corporate clients,” the company said.

UniCredit on Tuesday unveiled a 16.1 percent rise in first quarter net profit to a record 3.2 billion euros year-on-year, boosted by an increase in fees and lower costs.

The same day, it launched its long mooted hostile takeover for Germany’s Commerzbank, which has faced opposition from the government in Berlin.

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