MOSCOW, December 7. /TASS/. The Russian banks are working sustainably and steadily, President Vladimir Putin said at the VTB Investment Forum "Russia Calling!"

"Russian banks, although the majority of them was exposed to sanctions, are operating steadily and sustainably, boast a stable safety margin and ramp up lending for the real sector," the head of state said.

"I would like to remind that one of the first decisions of the West last year was to disconnect Russian banks from Visa system and MasterCard," the President continued. "It was designed to make impossible paying for goods and services, and ruining payments. Accordingly, this would paralyze the national banking sector," Putin said.

In practice, households and the business actually "did not notice the seamless transfer to the national payment system that is successfully operating and developing at present," he added.

The process of payments in national currencies will continue picking up momentum, Putin stressed.

"The system of payments in national currencies is successfully taking" the place of the Western system based on the dollar and the euro," the head of state noted.