Per Reuters (2258 EST):
The United States will also wield its most powerful sanctioning tool against certain Russian individuals and companies by placing them on the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list, effectively kicking them out of the U.S. banking system, banning their trade with Americans and freezing their U.S. assets, the same sources said.
The sources said the package could change up to the last minute and it was unclear who the targets would be. However, they believe top Russian financial institutions including VTB Bank (VTBR.MM), Sberbank (SBER.MM), VEB, and Gazprombank are possible targets.
The implications are significant, given that VTB, Gazprombank and Sberbank collectively represent over 40% of the Russian economy. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, in meetings with President Macron of France and President Biden of the United States, has also introduced the possibility of similar sanctions; Russia could be cut off from two of the three Central Banking currencies if they invade Ukraine.
Russian markets closed down -4.3% on Friday, 18 Feb, though U.S. futures rebounded slightly Sunday evening after news broke of a proposed summit between Putin, Biden and Macron, provided Russia does not invade Ukraine.
Submitted February 21, 2022 at 12:08AM by th3cr1t1c https://ift.tt/ABl7UCa
