How sanctions would hurt Russian banks

Frankfurt Sanctions, credit risks, cyber attacks: the recent escalation of the Ukraine crisis is stoking fears of a destabilization of the international banking system. Experts see possible cyber attacks from Russia on Western financial institutions as an additional threat to the financial system.

The sanctions threatened by the USA and Europe are also likely to be aimed at major Russian banks – with the aim of severely restricting access to the global financial system. That could affect all of Russia’s trade relations, with negative effects for German exporters as well.

The consequences of these fears can be read on the stock exchange: The shares of the Russian Sberbank, half state-owned, fell on Tuesday morning by more than nine percent. The course of VTB Bank, which is majority owned by the state, fell by around six percent.