A bank failing in Russia is at this point is barely news – a new one collapses almost every other day. But the fact that the Central Bank of Russia brought Bank Peresvet under provisional administration this week bears some scrutiny. Peresvet is special: 49 percent of the bank belongs to the Russian Orthodox Church; about one third of all of the bishoprics’ funds are held as deposits there. And “provisional administration” is often the first step towards a bank declaring bankruptcy.

It all started about a week ago, when Russian media reported that the bank’s CEO, Alexandr Shvets, had disappeared. Several days later, Peresvet began limiting withdrawals, claiming that the news stories about Shvets had unnecessarily spooked customers and created a limited run on deposits. They assured the public that the bank had no problems with liquidity. As for Shvets, the bank’s representatives said that he had fallen ill, but remained in Moscow.

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