Italy's largest bank has restricted payments from Russia: what is known about this

One of Italy's top banks has made an important decision regarding payments from Russia. The lender took this step for several reasons.

Italy's top bank has made an important decision regarding Russia

Italy's largest bank has decided to stop accepting payments in euros from Russia from January 15, 2025. This is reported by 24 Kanal with reference to Russian media.

This is Intesa Sanpaolo bank. The Italian lender's decision will most affect corporate clients in Russia, who use the bank to make euro payments with foreign counterparties.

For your understanding, approximately 15 Russian banks have correspondent accounts in the Russian branch of Intesa Sanpaolo. They add that in recent years, the “subsidiary” of Intesa Sanpaolo in Russia has significantly reduced the volume of transactions related to correspondent accounts.

Two reasons are identified that led to the decision to stop accepting payments in euros from Russia:

• Pressure from the European Central Bank;
• Reputational risks.