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Russia's VTB may suffer several hundred million dollars of losses from Ukrainian sanctions

Earlier on Thursday, Ukrainian President Pyotr Poroshenko imposed sanctions against five banks with Russian state capital operating in the Ukrainian market

MOSCOW, March 16. /TASS/. VTB may incur losses of several hundred million dollars as a result of sanctions imposed by Ukraine against subsidiaries of Russian banks, VTB President Andrey Kostin said in an interview with Rossiya 24 TV channel.

"This is an insignificant part, but I still would not want to incur losses - even if it's not very large sums. I think, for us it will reach several hundred million dollars," he said.

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Earlier on Thursday, Ukrainian President Pyotr Poroshenko imposed sanctions against five banks with Russian state capital operating in the Ukrainian market. Sanctions were introduced after the decision of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine adopted the day before. Restrictions are introduced for a year against Sberbank, VS Bank, Prominvestbank, VTB Bank and BM Bank.

Sanctions include a ban on withdrawal of funds outside of Ukraine, as well as payment of dividends, interest, return of interbank deposits and loans, funds from correspondent accounts of subordinated debt. The ban also concerns distribution of profits and capital of these five banks.

At the same time, restrictions, according to the National Bank of Ukraine, do not prohibit settlements between residents of Ukraine and their counterparties who have accounts in the parent structures.

Since March 13, Ukrainian nationalists have been blocking activities of Sberbank’s central office in Kiev, pitched tents in front of the building, made bonfires. At the same time, Russian banks in Ukraine are under pressure from the authorities. The National Bank of Ukraine announced on March 7 that it is ready to initiate sanctions against Sberbank’s subsidiary in Ukraine, if information about the bank providing services in Russia to customers with passports of Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics is confirmed.

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