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Italian insurance major Generali has announced plans to pull the plug on Russian operations after Moscow invaded Ukraine.
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The company said that it will close its Moscow representative office and wind down Europ Assistance business.
Additionally, it will quit the board of Ingosstrakh, a key Russian insurance firm in which Generali holds a 38.5% minority stake.
However, Generali has no immediate plans to sell its stake in the Ingosstrakh joint venture in the short term, but it is weighing other options, Reuters reported citing a source.
“Since the start of the war in Ukraine, Generali has been closely monitoring the situation and implications for operations and financial markets,” the insurer’s statement read.
The insurer said it is constantly evaluating its minor exposure to Russia in terms of investments and insurance business and is fully compliant with all applicable sanctions.
The news comes as the US and its European allies have imposed severe sanctions targeting Russia’s financial system.
Earlier this week, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi said that the country is ready to impose further sanctions on Russia.
The counter these sanctions, the Bank of Russia, the central bank of the country, has decided to increase the capital of its subsidiary Joint Stock Company Russian National Reinsurance Company (RNRC) from $675m (RUB71bn) to $2.86bn (RUB300bn).
“The increase in RNRC authorised capital will give Russian insurers wider opportunities to reinsure risks inside Russia, build additional reinsurance capacities, and manage new sanctions risks,” the Russian central bank said in a statement.
