Intesa Sanpaolo, an Italian bank, saw its Russian subsidiary's profits surge by over six times in 2022, as shown by independent audit documents.
The rise in profits can be attributed to Western sanctions on Russia's banking sector, which gave foreign lenders the opportunity to take business away from Russian lenders.
In contrast, Russia's banking sector saw profits fall by around 90% in 2022.
Intesa's Russian subsidiary solely serves corporate clients and had around 980 staff when the Ukraine conflict broke out.
Intesa Sanpaolo's Russian subsidiary reported a net profit of 2.02 billion roubles ($26.7 million) in 2022, a 538% rise from the previous year.
The surge in profits was due to Western sanctions on Russia's banking sector.
Western sanctions have given foreign banks the chance to take business away from Russian banks who fell under the sanctions.
As a result, Russia's banking sector saw profits plummet by around 90% in 2022.
Intesa's Russian subsidiary solely serves corporate clients and had around 980 staff when the Ukraine conflict broke out.
While Intesa's Russian subsidiary profited from the sanctions, the sanctions have also created difficulties.
Andrea Beltramello, head of the financial institutions group at law firm BCLP in Moscow, commented that "from a practical perspective, the environment has obviously become more challenging".
He added that "there are many banks which faced some difficulties in recent times with compliance, and really we're seeing IT as a huge challenge to many banks.
So it's not an easy environment."
Intesa's success in Russia is a rare highlight for the Italian bank as it has been struggling with bad loan problems over the years.
It has also faced criticism from some shareholders for its handling of a bid for a rival bank, UBI Banca, last year.
In contrast, Intesa's success in Russia can be seen as a sign of its ability to navigate difficult environments.