Italy’s Intesa heightens checks on Russia activities, halts lending

MILAN (Reuters) – Intesa Sanpaolo has stopped any financing to Russian and Belarusian counterparties since the start of the Ukraine war and put local operations under the special oversight of a crisis unit, a spokesperson for Italy’s biggest bank said on Friday.

While it continues to conduct a strategic review of its presence in Russia, Intesa has also stopped investments in Russian and Belarusian financial instruments, regardless of the applicable sanction regimes.

“All business activities with Russian and Belarusian counterparties – including those of the group’s Russian subsidiary, Banca Intesa Russia – have been subject to enhanced monitoring and analysis,” the spokesperson said in an emailed statement.

(Reporting by Valentina Za; editing by Agnieszka Flak)