Putin Sanctions Drive Away Banks as Loans Dry Up: Russia Credit

Lending to Russian companies reached a crescendo last year, with international banks pledging $31 billion to OAO Rosneft to buy TNK-BP. As sanctions are tightened against the nation, even the smallest deals have dried up.

No Russian companies received loans in U.S. dollars, Swiss francs or euros last month, the first time this has happened in at least five years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Global banks fell away in the second quarter, with lending plunging 42 percent from a year earlier to $4.7 billion as the Ukraine conflict worsened after President Vladimir Putin annexed Crimea in March. That was the least for any quarter since 2012.