VTB, Russia's second-largest bank by assets, said that the Finance Ministry had bought 214 billion rubles' ($5.43 billion) worth of the bank's preferred shares.
Reuters: Russia’s VTB says government buys $5 billion of its shares
The United States and European Union have sanctioned VTB, along with a number of other large state-owned Russian banks, over Moscow's perceived backing for pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine.
