Shares in Russia’s two largest lenders, Sberbank and VTB, reversed early losses to trade higher on Tuesday after the state-controlled groups escaped British sanctions on Russian banks.
British sanctions targeted Bank Rossiya, Black Sea Bank, Genbank, IS Bank and Promsvyazbank – smaller lenders of which only the latter is on the Russian central bank’s list of systemically important credit institutions.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson also sanctioned three high-net worth individuals in response to Russia’s decision to deploy troops to two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine after recognising their independence.
