Putin allows UniCredit to reorganize and sell Russian subsidiary

Russian President Vladimir Putin has officially permitted Italian banking group UniCredit to reorganize and sell its Russian subsidiary, according to a decree published on October 5, 2026. This approval is a significant step for UniCredit, one of the few European banks that has maintained operations in Russia following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine and subsequent international sanctions.

Under Russian law, companies from nations designated as "unfriendly" — a list that includes Italy — require specific government authorization to transfer or sell shares in Russian businesses. UniCredit had previously announced in May its intention to divest most of its Russian operations, UniCredit Bank Russia, to an investor based in the United Arab Emirates, while retaining control over its payments division.

The presidential decree clears the path for this transaction, which UniCredit anticipates completing by the first half of 2027. European banks like UniCredit and Austria's Raiffeisen Bank have been under considerable pressure from their home countries to withdraw from the Russian market. Concurrently, Western firms operating in Russia face the ongoing risk of asset seizure by Moscow as a retaliatory measure against Western governments.