The European Central Bank is ready to demand that the Italian bank UniCredit scale back its business operations with Russia, RBC-Ukraine reports, citing Reuters.
The requirements for the second largest European bank in Russia will be similar to those imposed on Raiffeisen Bank International, the largest western bank in the country.
Earlier, Austrian RBI stated that the ECB will ask the lender to reduce lending to clients in Russia to 65% compared to the third quarter of last year and reduce international payments from Russia by 2026.
This step, which RBI expects to be announced in the «near future,» will be a blow to the bank that has resisted international regulatory pressure to sever ties with Moscow.
After two years since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, RBI remains the most important financial channel for millions of Russians who want to send euros or dollars abroad.
Facing difficulties with the exit process from Russia, RBI expressed its intention to consider the separation of its Russian business, but after two years little has changed.
Negotiations between RBI and the ECB are taking place against the backdrop of continued scrutiny by regulatory authorities regarding the Austrian bank and its Russian connections, which began more than a year ago when the U.S. sanctions compliance body OFAC started checking the bank’s Russian business.
The Russian authorities have made it clear to RBI, which has around 2,600 corporate clients, four million account holders, and 10,000 employees in Russia, that they want the bank to stay, as it provides the ability for international payments.
