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UniCredit is ramping up its efforts to sell its Russian operations and exit the country, Reuters reported citing two unnamed sources.

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As part of the efforts, the Italian banking group has broadened its search for potential buyers of its Russian arm beyond local bidders.

The lender held talks with interested local parties but the downpour of western sanctions has stalled those efforts.

The sanctions have forced UniCredit to look for buyers in other countries such as India and China, one of the sources said.

The second source told the news agency that the talks with interested parties were going on but the source did not give a name.

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Last month, UniCredit CEO Andrea Orcel said that the chances of a deal with a Russian buyer have been reduced due to sanctions and “the window has become quite small”.

Interros, which is backed by Russian oligarch Vladimir Potanin, had expressed interest in buying the Italian bank’s Russian arm but Orcel had turned down their offer.

Although a deal with the Russian party remains possible, UniCredit is exploring other options as well, the sources said.

UniCredit is one of the few banks with significant exposure to Russia and the bank’s chief has used asset swaps to reduce that exposure.

The lender has set aside €1.3bn to counter potential losses from its exposure to Russia, where it stands to lose around €5.3bn in the worst-case scenario.