Thus the number one of UniCredit, managing director Andrea Orcel, commented on the solidity of Piazza Gae Aulenti, also speaking of Russia, in an interview with Class CNBC.
Orcel released the interview a few days after the announcement of the agreement signed with Azimut on asset management:
“The cruising speed must remain the same and we must replicate 2022 as much as possible in 2023. I think we are positioned to do so. In 2022 we de facto achieved all the goals of 2024 or we will achieve them when we close the year. The challenge in 2023 is that we can keep them,” Orcel said, confirming his trust in UniCredit.
Regarding the Russia factor, Orcel expressed himself as follows:
“We had a presence in Russia which was one of the largest and we got caught up in the war.” Now, “we have to restructure this presence”.
“Over the past 9 months – explained the banker – we have reduced our exposure to Russia by 50% on the cross border and we have done so in a rational and calm manner without giving value to anyone. This will continue, we will continue to move forward in this direction”.
“On the local presence (in Russia) – said the CEO of UniCredit – we have a bank that had more than 4,000 people. Today there are about 3,500 of them. We have also refocused the bank there, which is mainly corporate and has 1,500 customers of which 1,250 are European”.
Therefore, “we do, we have a bank in Russia, but we are supporting the disengagement, and all the challenges faced by 1,500 European customers who are also our customers in the countries where we are: we are accompanying this transition in the best way we know how”, he said Andrea Orcel to Class CNBC, according to what the Ansa news agency reported.