FT: ECB pushes UniCredit to exit Russia

European Central Bank (ECB) and UniCredit clash over dividend policy and presence in Russia, sources say Financial Times (FT). Chief Executive Officer of the largest bank in Italy Andrea Orcel in July informedthat is preparing to leave Russia.

According to the FT, the ECB sees UniCredit’s presence in Russia as an “undesirable source of risk” and is pushing the bank to exit the country. Mr. Orchel told one of the newspaper’s sources that he was “under a lot of pressure” from the regulator. He rules out selling the bank to a “local oligarch” and is negotiating with potential buyers from China, India and Turkey. UniCredit told the newspaper that they were “committed to withdrawing from Russia in an orderly and decisive manner.”

Unicredit Bank was included in the list of 45 credit institutions for which a ban on transactions with shares, shares and contributions to authorized capital has been established, unless special permission has been obtained. The list was approved as part of the execution of presidential decree No. 520 of August 5. The document prohibits unfriendly non-residents from withdrawing from assets in the Russian Federation at least until the end of the year.

More details about the mechanism – in the material “Kommersant” “Top Tier Shares”.

Leonid Uvarchev