Putin allows Italy's UniCredit banking group to reorganize, sell Russian subsidiary

Russian President Vladimir Putin recently granted approval for the Italian banking group UniCredit to reorganize its Russian subsidiary and sell the resulting unit, as per a decree published on October 5. Moscow has historically restricted transactions involving companies from "unfriendly" nations, such as Italy, from selling or transferring shares in Russian businesses without prior authorization.

UniCredit, one of the few European banks still operating in Russia, disclosed in May its intention to sell the majority of its Russian subsidiary, UniCredit Bank Russia, to a private UAE investor, while maintaining control over its payments arm. Putin's endorsement enables the planned reorganization and sale, which UniCredit intends to finalize during the first half of 2027.

European nations have been exerting increasing pressure on banks like UniCredit and Austria's Raiffeisen Bank to withdraw from the Russian market since Russia initiated its full-scale invasion in 2022. Simultaneously, Western companies confront the threat of Moscow seizing or confiscating their assets within Russia as a means of applying external pressure on Western governments.

In a recent development, Putin signed a decree authorizing the confiscation of assets belonging to the Swiss food company Nestle and the French supermarket chain Auchan, while also gaining control over the Russian subsidiary of Germany's wholesale food retailer Metro AG.