UniCredit and Raiffeisenbank have become the first banks to challenge European Central Bank sanctions against Russia, filing an appeal with the European Court of Justice.
UniCredit, headquartered in Milan, Italy, has asked to freeze the requirements imposed by the European Central Bank, as they exceed the powers of the ECB. Sanctions against Russia leave few alternatives: Either banks sell their assets at bargain prices or have to pay fines.
UniCredit released a note, in which it said, “Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the bank has adopted several strategies to drastically limit its activity in Russia, reducing its cross-border exposure by 91% and local exposure by 65% to date. Further substantial reductions will be carried out in line with the group’s defined action plan commitments. This shows that the bank shares with the ECB the importance of reducing its presence in Russia, but is concerned about the way the ECB has decided to implement this reduction, which exceeds the current regulatory framework.”
