Italian lender UniCredit completes sale of Turkey’s Yapi Kredi

UniCredit has finalized the sale of its remaining 18% stake in
Turkey’s Yapi Kredi Bank to Istanbul-listed Koch Holding, Italy’s
second-biggest lender said, Trend reports citing Daily Sabah.

The transaction, which was announced in November, allows the
Italian bank to complete its exit from Turkey’s third-biggest
lender, UniCredit said without disclosing financial terms of the
deal.

The closing of the transaction is expected to improve
UniCredit’s CET1 capital ratio by mid to high single-digit
percentage points in the second quarter of 2022, the bank said.

UniCredit had said in November that it expected its best-quality
capital to gain a low to mid-single-digit uplift, adding that it
would receive 300 million euros ($332 million) from the sale.

Koch Holding and UniCredit agreed in 2019 to unwind the joint
venture through which they jointly controlled Yapi Kredi with a
near 82% overall stake.

The move handed UniCredit a direct 31.9% stake, of which 12% was
sold in February 2020.