UniCredit Bank continues financial operations in Russia

The highest European court will help one of the continent's largest banks leave the market of the occupying state. The lawsuit was filed by UniCredit SpA lawyers.

Such information was published by the influential Western publication Reuters. It turned out that the Italian lender wants to assess the legality of the decision of the main regulator, which forces it to continue to reduce its presence in the resource federation of Muscovy.

UniCredit SpA explained that it agrees with the position of the European Central Bank on the need to reduce transactions with Russian businesses. However, the private institution has concerns regarding the terms of the reduction.

While the application is being considered, which may take several months, the Italian lender has asked for a temporary suspension of the ECB's decision. The request from UniCredit SpA came after the European regulator this year increased pressure on a number of banks that still have significant business in the Russian Federation to force them to leave.

However, the Kremlin has made it difficult for international companies to exit the market, putting creditors in a difficult position. Given the complexity and lack of a harmonized regulatory framework, UniCredit SpA in its statement expressed fears that the implementation of some of the ECB's conditions would have “serious unintended consequences” that would affect the entire system.