UniCredit's Russia Exit Had a Family Connection - CEO's Brother Brokered the Deal

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UniCredit’s Russia Exit Had a Family Connection – CEO’s Brother Brokered the Deal

The Italian bank turned to an unlikely insider to finally close its Russian chapter.

UniCredit has confirmed that Riccardo Orcel, brother of its own CEO Andrea Orcel, played a key role in arranging the bank’s exit from Russia. Riccardo spent years as a senior figure at Russian state-backed VTB Group before stepping away in 2022.

Key Details

UniCredit’s board appointed Riccardo Orcel as an independent adviser after he pitched a plan for handling the bank’s Russian business. The company says that work led directly to last month’s deal, a non-binding agreement to sell most of its Russian operations to a private investor based in the UAE. UniCredit will keep only its payments unit in the country.

Riccardo previously served as deputy CEO of VTB and vice chairman of its investment banking division, VTB Capital, making him one of the most recognized Western bankers in Moscow before the war. He left in 2022 and has since worked at Polymetal International and Quanton Commodities.

Why It Matters

For traders, this deal signals progress on one of the last major Western banking exits from Russia still unresolved since the invasion. Moscow has made these exits harder, demanding presidential approval and imposing discounts on asset sales, so any completed deal is worth watching.

The agreement still needs sign-off from Russia’s central bank and a presidential decree before it’s final. Traders should watch for confirmation in the coming weeks, along with any read-through for other Western banks still holding Russian assets.

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