ROME, Aug 2 (Reuters) - Intesa Sanpaolo has decided to close its representative office in Moscow, a spokesperson said on Wednesday, although Italy's largest bank has not been able to get approval for a full exit because of Russian restrictions on asset disposals.
Laws Moscow introduced after it invaded Ukraine in February last year have made a presidential green light necessary for banks such as Intesa to divest their local business.
With a staff of some 900 people, at the start of the war Intesa Russia served only corporate clients through 27 branches.
Confirming a report in Italian daily Il Messaggero, the Intesa spokesperson said the closure of the representative office did not affect the bank's local business, which Intesa has been working to shrink.
As of June 30, Intesa had 0.1 billion euros, net of provisions, in loans to Russian clients granted by its local arm, down 66% year-on-year. Cross-border loans totalled 0.7 billion euros net of writedowns and export credit guarantees, with a 77% yearly drop.
Even though Intesa's cross-border Russian loans are mostly still performing, the bank has classed them as "Stage 2" which indicates a high risk of impairment.
Euro zone banks are under pressure by industry supervisors to exit Russia and Intesa has been exploring options, with Russian local media referring, for example, to a sale to the bank's own managers.
Il Messaggero said the closure of the representative office would become effective within a few months, and said the move was "highly symbolic and historic" saying Intesa Russia President Antonio Fallico was the most influential Italian banker in Russia, where he had arrived in the 1970s. (Reporting by Giselda Vagnoni and Valentina Za; writing by Alvise Armellini, editing by Jane Merriman)
