Russia’s parliament rushes through bill boosting banking capital | Reuters.
(Reuters) – Russia’s lower house of parliament passed a draft law that would give the banking sector a capital boost of up to 1 trillion rubles ($16.5 billion) on Friday, part of measures to shieldbanks from Western economic sanctions.
Russia’s financial sector is reeling from the country’s slide toward recession and Western sanctions over the Ukraine crisis that have restricted banks’ access to international capital markets, driving their funding costs sharply higher.
The State Duma said on its website it had passed the bill in all three required readings – speeding up a process which can sometimes see laws languish in parliament for weeks.
