On Friday, the Bank of Italy announced that domestic banks hold significant exposure in four nations outside the European Union. These nations include the United States, Great Britain, Switzerland, and Russia, as measured by official end-2024 data.

Leading lenders such as Intesa Sanpaolo and UniCredit are active in Russia. The former serves only corporate clients, while UniCredit operates a retail bank. Their presence reflects exposure to dynamic global markets.

UniCredit updated its investor documents linked to its bid for Banco BPM. The bank reported that its local unit’s holdings of Russian government bonds rose from 574 million euros in December to 754 million euros in the first quarter.

A bank representative explained that this increase is solely a result of the Russian rouble’s revaluation. No change in operations contributed; the bond value shift comes entirely from the currency adjustment.

These figures capture current market shifts and clearly show how global currency movements affect asset valuations. Italian banks continue reviewing their international positions as part of ongoing risk assessments, with market evaluations remaining under close review.