UniCredit ($UCG (-3.21%)) has decided to take legal action against claims made by the ECB to reduce its Russian business. Russian business business in Russia.

The ECB had demanded that UniCredit ($UCG (-3.21%)) and Raiffeisen Bank International ($RBI (-1.85%)) set detailed targets for the withdrawal from Russia. These targets required UniCredit to present a strategic plan, which has not yet been submitted. To date, the ECB's focus has been on RBIwhich had originally planned to realize its profits from Russia through a Strabag ($STR (+0.32%)) share swap deal to Vienna. However, this plan was abandoned after the company involved was placed on the sanctions list.

UniCredit is the second largest company after RBI the second largest representative of Western banks in Russia. Since March 2022 the bank has increased its cross-border business by 91% and its domestic business by 65% reduced. UniCredit CEO Andrea Orcel already emphasized at the beginning of the war that he was not prepared to give up the Russian business. The ECB has not yet commented on the legal dispute. The proceedings could drag on for several months, with court decisions possibly only being made years later. However, this could be problematic as the targets set by the ECB by 2026 are to be achieved. Orcel received support from the Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajaniwho emphasized that the ECB should act in accordance with the EU sanctions and that hasty decisions could harm Italian and EU companies.