UniCredit continues to expand its operations in central and eastern Europe, with the acquisitive Italian banking group turning its gaze towards Ukraine in July. Bank Austria Creditanstalt (BA-CA), which is responsible for UniCredit’s commercial banking activities in central and eastern Europe, has signed an agreement to buy 95% of Ukrsotsbank (USB), Ukraine’s fourth-largest bank by assets. The deal follows June’s $1.5 billion purchase of a controlling stake in Kazakhstan’s ATF Bank and the acquisition of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development’s 10% stake in Russia’s International Moscow Bank for $229 million.
The purchase will reinforce UniCredit’s presence in the fast-growing Ukrainian...
