Report: Russia may cut state ownership of banks after sanctions lifted

MOSCOW, Sep 7 (PRIME) -- Russia should decrease state ownership in banks only after Western sanctions have been lifted from the institutions because they weigh down on the share price, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said in an interview to Bloomberg TV broadcast on Thursday.

Russian banks hit by international sanctions are undervalued. “This is why we think that if we speak about a higher share of private capital in the banking system, it would be more reasonable to do it in the period when restrictions on business in Russia are minimized,” he said.

“State banks have shown that they are the backbone of the banking system that provides stability in banking settlements and reliability of banking functions fulfillment.”

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