Exclusive-Intesa closer to Russia approval on exit as Moscow stance shifts -sources

investing.com:

By Valentina Za and Alexandra Schwarz-Goerlich

MILAN (Reuters) -Italy's biggest bank Intesa Sanpaolo (OTC:ISNPY) is getting closer to securing approval from Moscow to transfer its Russian business to local management, a source close to the matter said, as the country's stance on asset disposals shifts.

Intesa has said in the past that it was working «to select counterparties» to offload its Russian business to, but it has not disclosed progress on the matter. News that it is close to receiving approval for the exit has not been reported before.

A spokesperson for Intesa Sanpaolo declined to comment.

Laws that Moscow introduced after it invaded Ukraine in February last year have made presidential approval necessary for banks such as Intesa to cut ties with their local business.

A decree signed last August by President Vladimir Putin gave him the power to issue special waivers for certain deals to proceed.

A final sign-off is still pending and there is no certainty it will be granted, the person told Reuters, requesting anonymity because the matter is private.

Intesa serves corporate clients in Russia, where it had around 980 employees at the start of the war across 28 branches. It stopped new financing to Russian clients and fresh investments in Russian assets when the war broke out.

Pressured by European banking supervisors to cut ties with Russia, Intesa has been working on reducing its exposure, which also includes cross-border loans.

At the end of June, Intesa had 700 million euros in cross-border loans to Russian clients net of provisions and export credit guarantees, down 77% year-on-year. Local loans totalled 100 million euros, down 66% from a year before.

Overall, Russia accounts for just 0.2% of client loans