Customers of UniCredit’s Russian subsidiary are being advised to close their accounts and cards and transfer their money elsewhere, in the clearest sign yet that the Italian banking group is winding down its retail presence in the country.
Support staff at UniCredit Bank began sending the recommendations on 2 September 2026, according to RBC. The bank said the move was driven by a reduction in its retail business in Russia. It has not announced the forced termination of customer agreements, but the advice to close accounts, cancel cards and withdraw remaining funds marks a significant contraction for one of Russia’s systemically important banks.
The retreat is the result of the combined pressure of European and US sanctions imposed after Vladimir Putin launched the war against Ukraine, tighter oversight by the European Central Bank and the rising regulatory risks faced by international banks operating in Russia. For UniCredit, maintaining a broad retail operation has become increasingly difficult to justify while cross-border financial activity is heavily restricted.
From gradual withdrawal to active closure
UniCredit announced the possibility of leaving the Russian market in 2022, after the invasion began. Since then, the Italian group has steadily reduced its Russian business, including lending and its customer base. The process accelerated after the ECB strengthened its demands on European credit institutions that retained operations in Russia.
In May 2026, UniCredit announced an agreement with a private investor from the United Arab Emirates to sell part of its Russian business. The proposed transaction would split UniCredit Bank’s operations between two structures. Some activities would be transferred to a new legal entity remaining entirely under UniCredit’s control, while the bank itself would be sold to the investor.
Under the group’s plan, the business retained by UniCredit would focus primarily on international payments, especially in euros and US dollars, for western and Russian corporate customers who are not under sanctions. Other operations would pass to the new owner. The bank has not taken on new corporate customers since 2025, further narrowing the scope of its activity.
Retail network reduced to a single Moscow branch
The bank’s service for individuals has already been reduced to a minimum. Almost all of its physical locations have closed, leaving only one branch in Moscow serving private customers. New customer acquisition has been completely suspended.
That leaves existing customers facing practical difficulties when they need to appear in person or obtain banking certificates and other documents. The support service’s recommendation that customers should not replenish their balances is therefore more than a routine change in service: it points to a planned run-down of the retail portfolio, even though the bank has stopped short of announcing compulsory closures.
The economic case for the retail business has also weakened. High interest rates and reduced borrowers’ ability to repay increase the risk of bad debt, while recovering loans under Russia’s regulatory and sanctions restrictions creates additional complications for a bank with foreign capital. By stopping new lending and shrinking its retail operations, UniCredit can limit the accumulation of higher-risk household assets and reduce the need to build reserves that would weigh on its financial results.
A shrinking channel to international finance
For years, UniCredit Bank was one of the few lawful channels available to Russian individuals seeking to make cross-border transfers or hold foreign-currency funds through a European banking group. The withdrawal of its retail services removes that route at a time when alternatives are becoming scarcer.
Other foreign banks still operating in Russia are also facing growing pressure from European regulators. They have been tightening conditions for Russian customers, raising fees and imposing stricter limits on international transfers. The result is a steadily narrower financial connection between Russian households and the world beyond the country’s borders.
UniCredit’s decision therefore carries significance beyond the fate of one bank. It shows how sanctions compliance and regulatory pressure have turned a continuing Russian presence into a strategic liability for a European financial group, while the contraction of retail services leaves ordinary customers with fewer ways to move or manage money internationally. The next test will be whether the planned restructuring preserves only a limited corporate payments operation or leads eventually to the group’s complete operational departure from Russia.
How much of UniCredit’s international payments business can remain in Russia without exposing the group to unacceptable regulatory risk?
