UniCredit begins selling its Russian assets
The leasing subsidiary of UniCredit Bank (part of the Italian UniCredit financial group) has sold virtually its entire long-term contract portfolio, according to Kommersant newspaper, which interprets this to mean that UniCredit has begun actively scaling back its business in Russia.
UniCredit Leasing sold contracts worth almost RUB 3 billion to the Russian company PR-Leasing. Selling the portfolio rather than the entire company avoids lengthy negotiations with the government commission and mandatory contribution to the federal budget, the publication notes.
PR-Leasing confirmed the deal to Kommersant without specifying the amount.
In addition, the newspaper reports that Kirill Zhukov-Emelyanov, Board chairman of UniCredit Bank, who worked at the bank for more than 20 years, left his post in December. This is confirmed by information posted in the Unified State Register of Legal Entities. According to Rusprofile, Alexei Oborin has been the Board chairman of UniCredit Bank since 5 December 2025.
Kommersant has also learned that Vadim Aparkhov, Board member and head of the corporate and investment division, and Yulia Petrova, the bank's chief operating officer, are also leaving the bank. According to the publication's sources, these changes can be seen as connected with the bank's future sale.
UniCredit CEO Andrea Orcel said earlier that the bank had repeatedly tried to leave Russia since 2022, but sanctions had hindered the process. In November 2025, Orcel stated at a European Central Bank forum that "Russia has 15,000 sanctions, and they are all different, so management under these circumstances requires galactic efforts in terms of compliance." "The second challenge, at least for us, is not to be nationalised," the UniCredit chief said.
Orcel ruled out selling UniCredit Bank on Russian terms. He said that a sale at a 60% discount from the book value of the business plus a 35% "tax" on the value would be "a gift to the Russians."
Related news
20.01.26