Italy’s second largest bank, UniCredit, considers the geopolitical risks stemming from the war in Ukraine to analyze the cessation of its operations in Russia, where it operates with 4,000 employees and some 70 branches.
The CEO of UniCredit, Andrea Orcellhe stated in a digital meeting with the US financial Morgan Stanley that UniCredit is “completing an urgent internal assessment of the impact and consequences of an exit” from Russiabut that it is not a decision that should be taken lightly, according to a statement from the Italian entity.
“It would be very easy to say that UniCredit leaves Russia, but divest a bank that employs more than 4,000 people and serves more than 1,500 companies, 1,250 of which are European, and face a shock that could reach 7.5 billion euros. euros, cannot and should not be done overnight”said.
“My main task is to ensure the overall stability of our bank and our ability to serve our communities across Europe”he added.
The Italian bank reported a week ago that at the end of 2021 its Russian subsidiary UniCredit Bank Russia had a self-financed credit position of 7.8 billion euros, a ratio RWA (Risk Weighted Assets) of 9.4 billion euros and a net worth of 2.5 billion euros.
He also pointed out that, in an extreme scenario, in which all its exposure was lost, the impact on the ratio CET1 of UniCredit at the end of 2021 (15.03%, which discounts the dividend accrued in 2021 of 1,200 million euros) would be about 200 basis points and would not fall below 13%.
UniCredit shares accumulate a drop of 36.07% in the last 30 days as a result of the invasion of Ukraine by Russia.
Source: Gestion
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