AO UniCredit Bank
Moscow-based Russian subsidiary of Italy's UniCredit S.p.A.; Putin authorised its sale in October 2026.
AO UniCredit Bank is the Moscow-registered Russian subsidiary of Italy's UniCredit S.p.A., holding Bank of Russia licence No. 1. On 5 October 2026 Vladimir Putin cleared the sale of all its shares.
Last refreshed: 12 October 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
Who will own UniCredit's Russian bank once the Kremlin-approved sale closes?
Timeline for AO UniCredit Bank
Putin clears sale of AO UniCredit Bank
Russia-Ukraine War 2026Background
AO UniCredit Bank is the Moscow-registered Russian subsidiary of Italy's UniCredit S.p.A. and holds Bank of Russia banking licence No. 1. Its parent counts among the few big Western lenders left in Russia, and says it agrees with the European Central Bank on reducing its presence there.
On 5 October 2026 Vladimir Putin authorised a reorganisation of the bank and the purchase of all its shares from UniCredit S.p.A. The order first lets part of the bank be spun off into a company whose shares stay with the parent. It follows a non-binding term sheet UniCredit signed on 7 May 2026 with what it called a well-established private investor in the United Arab Emirates: the parent keeps the spun-off "New Bank" and the buyer takes the rest, with closing expected in the first half of 2027. UniCredit estimated a cumulative profit hit of about €3.0bn to €3.3bn.
The Russian business stays profitable but is shrinking, with net profit of €268m in the first half of 2026 against €472m a year earlier. The permission rests on Decree No. 520 of 5 August 2022, which puts deals in shares of banks owned from "unfriendly" states under the president's personal sign-off. For this bank, a change of owner needs a signature in Moscow, while its parent's retreat answers to pressure from the European Central Bank.