UniCredit Outlines $8 Billion Russia Exposure, Is Cautious on Capital Returns
09 März 2022 - 09:26AM
Dow Jones News
By Cristina Roca
UniCredit SpA gave details late Tuesday of its exposure to
Russia and the maximum hit its capital could suffer in a worst-case
scenario, and signaled that its buyback plans would be affected by
this.
The Italian lender outlined exposure to Russia totaling around
7.4 billion euros ($8.06 billion)
In an extreme scenario where the entirety of this maximum
exposure became nonrecoverable, the impact to its common equity
Tier 1 ratio at the end of 2021 would amount to about 2 percentage
points, UniCredit said. UniCredit's CET1 ratio--a measure of
capital strength--stood at 15.03% at the end of 2021.
The bank said it doesn't consider this scenario as its base
case, but that it is taking a prudent approach to capital returns.
It confirmed its 2021 dividend, and said it would be able to keep
its CET1 ratio above 13% even in the extreme scenario.
"Furthermore, we confirm our intention to execute the share
buyback up to the previously agreed amount of EUR2.58 [billion],
subject to our pro forma 2021 year end CET1 remaining above 13.0%.
An ultimate capital impact from our Russian exposures lower than
200 [basis points] will enable us to use up to an equivalent amount
for the share buyback," UniCredit said.
The bank has promised to return at least EUR16 billion to its
shareholders by 2024 through a mix of dividends and buybacks. It
didn't comment on its capital-return plans in respect of future
years, but said it will keep the market updated on the development
of its Russian exposure.
Write to Cristina Roca at cristina.roca@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 09, 2022 03:11 ET (08:11 GMT)
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