MOSCOW, April 10 - Italian bank UniCredit has abandoned plans to sell its Russian unit and is considering liquidating the business and relinquishing its banking license in Russia instead, the Kommersant daily reported on Friday, citing unnamed sources.
UniCredit was one of Russia's top 15 banks when Moscow launched its war in Ukraine in February 2022, a move that triggered sweeping Western sanctions against Russia.
The European Central Bank formally warned UniCredit about Russia-related risks in April 2023 and followed up a year later with a demand that it to reduce its activities.
Since then, UniCredit - also under pressure on the issue from Italy's government - has been shrinking its Russia presence. It last year halved the loans extended by its Russian unit to 600 million euros, though net profit rose to 814 million euros from 577 million in 2024.
CEO Andrea Orcel has been reluctant to exit the country at a loss and Russia's central bank still lists UniCredit's Russian unit as one of the country's 12 "systemically important" banks.
A representative for UniCredit in Milan was not immediately available for comment.
(Reporting by Reuters Moscow BuroAdditional reporting by Valentina Za in MilanWriting by Gleb BryanskiEditing by Andrew Osborn)
