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Russia has imposed banking restrictions on Italian customers transacting with local units of Intesa Sanpaolo and UniCredit, Reuters reported citing two unnamed sources.
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According to the sources, the Bank of Russia had told the Italian banks that their clients will have to take approval from the local bank heads to withdraw money from their accounts.
The new temporary restrictions apply to Italian residents, firms and even the Italian consulates.
Large deposits that take an account’s balance above €100,000 are also not allowed, they said, adding that Italian citizens and companies without a Russian residency permit would be barred from opening new accounts.
In March, the European Central Bank had asked some lenders in the EU region to monitor transactions by all Russian customers.
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By GlobalDataThe EU banks were put on alert for large deposits, payments, and new credit applications.
The news comes as the war between Russia and Ukraine drags on forcing western banks to quit Russia.
Intesa Sanpaolo, which is a major Italian bank, is conducting a review of its Russian operations which employs around 980 people.
Earlier this month, the lender said it has set aside €800m to counter losses from its exposure to Russia and Ukraine.
Intesa Sanpaolo’s rival UniCredit is also holding talks with investors to sell its Russian business.
In case of a complete write off of Russian operations, UniCredit could take a hit of around €5.3bn. The lender has put €1.3bn in reserves to counter potential losses.
