The sanctions against Russia will have a limited impact on the subsidiary of Unicredit Bank Austria in the short term, even if it is not yet possible to predict whether there will be a relapse on 2015. This was stated by the head of Central and Eastern Europe of the bank Gianni Franco Pope during an interview with the Austrian newspaper "Salzburger Nachrichten".
According to Pope, it is evident that the Ukrainian economy is suffering from the conflict, making it very difficult for UniCredit to sell the assets in Ukraine. Although the growth in the regions of central-eastern Europe will not meet the forecasts for 2014, the manager sees the glass as half full: “we are however optimistic and we expect an increase of 1,5 to 2% on average. Compared to what we see in Western Europe, it is good, even if not at the levels of the past”.
