Russia closed three troubled banks, bringing the number of financial institutions hit by the economic crisis to more than ten since early November. The Central Bank announced that it had withdrawn the banking licenses in Gorod, Vityaz and NST Bank, noting an insufficient level of capital and liquidity difficulties preventing normal functioning and, in particular for Gorod, "opaque transactions which would imply transfer of funds to the abroad in large quantities".
The banking system was hit hard by the collapse of the ruble at the end of 2014. In total, around 70 banks have lost their banking license since the beginning of 2015, also dragged down by the deep recession due to the fall in oil prices and Western sanctions after the Ukrainian crisis.
