UPDATE: EU prohibits analytical coverage of blacklisted Russian bks

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MOSCOW, Oct 22 (PRIME) -- The European Commission has barred E.U. banks from releasing analytical reports covering transferable securities of Russian banks which were blacklisted earlier over the crisis in Ukraine, as follows from a statement seen by PRIME on Thursday.

The measure concerns Sberbank, Gazprombank, VTB Bank, Vnesheconombank and Russian Agricultural Bank.

“Article 5 (of the council’s Regulation 833/2014 on sanctions) states that it is prohibited to directly or "indirectly" provide investment services in relation to transferable securities. Among other things, the definition of investment services in Article 1 of Regulation 833/2014, as amended, includes "investment advice," according to the statement.

The analytical researches help potential investors make decisions on purchases, sales or retaining of assets, which is why the publication of such information shall be forbidden, according to the statement.

The new restriction will not affect operations of Sberbank as it covers only analytical reports on new issues of securities, while the bank plans no new issues. The restriction does not cover securities that were issued prior to the sanctions, Sberbank CFO Alexander Morozov said separately.

The European Commission has done more harm to itself than to Russian banks with the decision, VTB First Deputy CEO Vasily Titov said. “It looks like a shot in their own leg, we will not stop working because of that. When someone leaves their own clients without any knowledge about what is going on, the only winners here are those who will deliver the information,” he said.

In 2014, the relations between Russia and the West deteriorated to their worst since the Cold War due to a military conflict in Ukraine. The E.U. and the U.S. introduced sanctions against a large number of Russian individuals and firms and then also against the energy and banking sectors.

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