Summary: UniCredit confirmed the closure of one Moscow office, reducing its in-person presence in the Russian capital to a single full-service branch. The bank said it will convert its other branches across 13 Russian regions to remote customer service operations. UniCredit declined to provide further comment on the Moscow closure.
The bank remains one of the few Western lenders still operating in Russia since the outset of the Ukraine conflict. Regulators in Europe - specifically the European Central Bank - have been urging UniCredit to accelerate its exit from the country. UniCredit halted acceptance of new corporate clients in Russia last year.
Separately, last month UniCredit said it had reached a non-binding agreement to sell parts of its Russian banking operations to a private investor based in the United Arab Emirates. Under the contemplated transaction, UniCredit would retain only its payments business in Russia. The bank said the deal is expected to be completed in the first half of 2027, subject to obtaining regulatory approval and completing the separation of the bank's assets. UniCredit did not disclose the financial terms of the proposed sale.
The announced Moscow office closure and wider move to remote service change the operational footprint UniCredit maintains in Russia. Converting branches to remote customer service may alter how existing retail and corporate customers interact with the bank in those 13 regions, and could affect the scale and structure of on-the-ground staffing and branch-level operations.
UniCredit declined to expand on the reasons behind the specific Moscow office shutdown when asked, and provided no additional operational details about the planned shift to remote servicing across the other regions. The timeline and completion of the partial sale remain contingent on regulatory sign-off and asset separation processes that the bank indicated are still outstanding.
Key points
- UniCredit closed one Moscow office, leaving one full-service branch in the Russian capital.
- Branches across 13 Russian regions will move to remote customer service operations.
- UniCredit reached a non-binding agreement to sell parts of its Russian business to a UAE-based private investor, planning to keep only its payments business; the deal is expected to close in H1 2027 pending regulatory approval and asset separation.
Risks and uncertainties
- The transaction is conditional on regulatory approval and the successful separation of assets - outcomes that remain uncertain and could delay or alter the deal.
- UniCredit has not disclosed financial terms for the sale, leaving the economic impact on the bank and stakeholders unclear.
- Pressure from the European Central Bank to speed the lender's exit from Russia introduces timing and strategic uncertainty for UniCredit's remaining operations in the country.
Sectors affected
- Banking - branch operations, corporate and retail customer servicing.
- Payments - the unit UniCredit intends to retain in Russia.
- Financial markets - investor assessments tied to regulatory approval and deal terms.