The credit rating of AO UniCredit Bank (hereinafter, UniCredit Bank or the Bank) has been affirmed based on ACRA’s expectations that in the next 12 months the Bank will maintain a sustainable level of standalone creditworthiness and the status of a systemically important institution.
The Bank’s standalone creditworthiness assessment (SCA) takes into account the decline of its market positions coupled with it maintaining its significance in the transactions business, as well as strong capitalization and profitability, and the adequate risk profile and funding and liquidity position. The Agency also maintains its opinion on the moderate systemic importance of UniCredit Bank to the Russian financial sector, which is expressed in the addition of two notches to the SCA.
UniCredit Bank is a systemically important institution and a subsidiary of a global financial group (hereinafter, the Group, the Supporting Entity, or the SE). Over the past two years, the Bank has considerably decreased its positions in terms of assets in the Russian banking sector and downsized its branch network in the country.
KEY ASSESSMENT FACTORS
Moderately strong business profile assessment (a). Amid the geopolitical tensions of recent years, as a subsidiary of a global banking group, UniCredit Bank adheres to the Group’s policy of reducing its presence in the Russian Federation. This has had a considerable impact on UniCredit Bank’s lending activity, causing a significant contraction of its portfolio, and continues to put pressure on the Bank’s business opportunities. Further development remains uncertain because the Group has publicly announced multiple times that it is considering different scenarios for exiting the Russian market. Consequently, the Agency cannot exclude the possibility of changes to the ownership structure of the Bank, and assumes a further reduction of the scale of the Group’s presence in the Russian market over the next 12 months.
The business profile assessment is supported at its current relatively strong level by improved financial results on the back of the Bank’s cheap funding base, income from foreign currency transactions and foreign currency revaluation. The continued ability to conduct international settlements is an advantage that distinguishes the Bank from its large competitors, and also has a positive impact on the Bank’s activities. However, continuing geopolitical tensions and the attention of global regulators may lead to a reduction in activity in this area.
Other factors that support the business include a globally recognized brand and many years of experience, which continue to have a positive impact on customer confidence. The Agency’s opinion on the strong business profile assessment is backed by the Bank’s high standards of corporate governance, as well as risk management and control procedures implemented and cultivated by the Russian subsidiary, taking into account the Group’s global experience.
The strong capital adequacy reflects excessively high current capital adequacy metrics (N1.2 was 88.9% as of the start of March 2026) amid a declining loan portfolio and a proven ability to generate profits. The Bank’s performance in 2022–2025 calculated as per local adjusted IFRS reporting significantly exceeded the figures of previous years due to net interest income (the values were supported by a high key rate and changes in the resource base, in which the shares of conditionally free-of-charge current accounts for the Bank and equity increased) and revenues from operations with foreign currency. These same factors explain ACRA’s expectations regarding a further strengthening of UniCredit Bank’s capitalization over the next 12 months, despite dividend payments and the decline in the scale of business.
The adequate risk profile assessment of UniCredit Bank is due to a high-quality risk management system and the transforming structure of the balance sheet, on which the share of liquid and low-risk assets continues to grow.
The increase in the volume of potentially non-performing debt since 2022, coupled with a decline in the total loan portfolio, has a constraining effect on the assessment. Furthermore, UniCredit Bank’s balance sheet contains claims on related financial institutions classified as stage 3 under IFRS, for which increased loss provisions are created. According to ACRA’s estimates, non-performing and potentially non-performing assets are adequately covered by provisions.
At the same time, the Agency also notes that significant amounts of exposures to related non-residents, the servicing of which may be complicated by geopolitical tensions, including current and possible future restrictions on the movement of capital, may result in difficulties for credit risk management. On the other hand, the presence of these foreign currency assets makes it possible to more efficiently manage the foreign exchange position in order to balance a significant part of liabilities denominated in foreign currency.
Adequate funding and liquidity position. Thanks to its strong market positions and brand, the Bank has a comfortable volume of liquid and highly liquid assets, manages liquidity prudently, and has a stable and relatively inexpensive resource base. As of the start of March 2026, the N2, N3, and N4 ratios amounted to 1012%, 846%, and 6.7%, respectively. Along with the growing share of capital on the Bank’s balance sheet, these factors will continue support the Bank’s credit rating.
Importance to the financial system. In ACRA’s opinion, over the next 12 months, UniCredit Bank will maintain its moderate systemic importance due to the still significant amount of funds held by customers with the Bank and the overall scale of its business. ACRA also notes the maintained importance of UniCredit Bank as one of the few channels still available to service international transactions. The Bank of Russia continues to include UniCredit Bank in its list of systemically important credit institutions. The Agency’s opinion on the level of systemic importance is expressed in the addition of two notches to the SCA.
In ACRA’s opinion, the degree of support from the Group has not changed over the past year. The Agency understands that the SE’s interest in maintaining its presence in the Russian market has decreased after the sharp escalation of economic, political, sanctions, and regulatory risks in Q1 2022. ACRA also believes that although the negative financial consequences of the Group’s exit from the Russian market would be notable, they would not lead to a sustained significant deterioration in the Group’s financial standing. Regardless of further steps taken by the Group in relation to its Russian business, the Agency notes that strong reputational ties with the Supporting Entity will also remain as long as a single brand is maintained.
In addition, ACRA emphasizes that the current support assessment continues to take into account the different jurisdictions of presence of the Bank and the SE, which makes the possibility of providing support dependent on the freedom of capital movement between the countries.
KEY ASSUMPTIONS
-
Maintaining the current business model over the next 12 months;
-
Continued status as a systemically important financial institution;
-
Continued reputational risks for the Group in case of disruptions to the Bank’s operations.
POTENTIAL OUTLOOK OR RATING CHANGE FACTORS
The Stable outlook assumes that the rating will highly likely stay unchanged within the 12 to 18-month horizon.
A negative rating action may be prompted by:
-
Reduced possibility of state support due to the Bank losing its systemic importance or lower systemic importance, coupled with signs of further decline in the Group’s propensity to provide support;
-
Substantial decline in the Bank’s standalone creditworthiness, for example, due to significant credit losses on receivables from non-residents associated with current or future possible difficulties in conducting cross-border transactions;
-
Deterioration of the business profile assessment due to the Group’s reduced interest in developing in Russia.
RATING COMPONENTS
SCA: aa.
Systemic importance: plus two notches to the SCA.
Support: ACRA assumes that the SE will be able to provide the Bank with extraordinary support, including capital and liquidity. As the final rating, taking into account the systemic importance, is AAA(RU), the potential impact of group support on the rating has not been determined.
ISSUE RATINGS
There are no outstanding issues.
REGULATORY DISCLOSURE
The credit rating has been assigned to AO UniCredit Bank based on the following methodologies: the Methodology for Assigning Credit Ratings to Banks and Bank Groups under the National Scale for the Russian Federation to calculate the SCA and determine the credit rating and the credit rating outlook of AO UniCredit Bank under the national scale for the Russian Federation, Methodology for Assigning Credit Ratings with External Support to determine factors of external influence, and the Key Concepts Used by the Analytical Credit Rating Agency within the Scope of Its Rating Activities to ensure consistent and uniform application of ACRA’s methodologies, rating scales, models, and key rating assumptions.
The principles of the following methodologies were also applied: the Methodology for Assigning Credit Ratings to Banks and Banking Groups under the International Scale to determine the creditworthiness of the Supporting Entity under the international scale, Methodology for Assigning Credit Ratings to Sovereign Entities under the International Scale to determine the Supporting Entity’s operating environment, and the Methodology for Mapping Credit Ratings Assigned under ACRA’s International Scale to Credit Ratings Assigned under ACRA’s National Scales to determine the creditworthiness of the Supporting Entity under the national scale for the Russian Federation.
The credit rating of AO UniCredit Bank assigned under the national scale for the Russian Federation was published by ACRA for the first time on June 27, 2017.
The credit rating was last published on May 12, 2025.
The credit rating and its outlook are expected to be revised within one year.
The credit rating was assigned based on data provided by AO UniCredit Bank, information from publicly available sources, and ACRA’s own databases. The rating analysis was performed using the IFRS accounting (financial) statements of AO UniCredit Bank as of December 31, 2025 and the financial statements of AO UniCredit Bank drawn up in compliance with the requirements of the Bank of Russia.
The credit rating is solicited and AO UniCredit Bank participated in its assignment.
In assigning the credit rating, ACRA used only information, the quality and reliability of which were, in ACRA’s opinion, appropriate and sufficient to apply the methodologies.
ACRA provided no additional services to AO UniCredit Bank during the year preceding the rating action.
No conflicts of interest were discovered in the course of credit rating assignment.
