Kremlin: No risk to Russia from failure of SVB bank in US

MOSCOW (Reuters) – There is no risk to Russia from the failure of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) in the United States because it is largely cut off from the Western financial system, the Kremlin said on Tuesday.

Asked whether Russia faced risks from the fallout of SVB’s collapse, which has slammed financial markets in the United States, Europe and Asia, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “There are practically none right now.”

He added: “Our banking system has certain connections with some segments of the international financial system, but it is mostly under illegal restrictions” – a reference to Western sanctions on Russia’s economy and most of its leading banks.

“We are, to a certain extent, insured against the negative impact of the crisis that is currently unfolding overseas,” Peskov told reporters.

Startup-focused lender SVB Financial Group became the largest bank to fail since the 2008 financial crisis, in a collapse that has roiled global markets.

(Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)