The Financial Times reported that Unicredit and Citi are researching the possibility of swapping assets through deals with Russian financial institutions.
According to the newspaper, Unicredit received a series of offers to acquire its local branch, while Interos Group made a similar proposal, in particular, to its owner, businessman Vladimir Potanin, but was rejected by bank these offers. According to the bank, it risks losing 5.3 billion euros if it loses its business in Russia.
Both banks are also considering deals to exchange their assets in Russia by foreign institutions for domestic creditors, as Unicredit is working on deals with non-compliant banks to replace Russia’s “loan books” for overseas loan portfolios. While Citi prefers to sell it to a legal entity that is not subject to sanctions, the bank is in talks with some medium-sized banks in Russia.
According to the newspaper, Western banks have discussed with regulators the possibility of obtaining a “special clause” that will allow them, as a last resort, to conduct transactions with natural and legal persons on the lists. of penalties. According to one banker, “sanction legislators” said it was possible to enter into sale agreements with “some people” subject to sanctions.
Source: RIA Novosti
Source: Arabic RT
