The administration of Russia's largest state-owned bank, Sberbank of Russia, filed a lawsuit to the Court of Justice of the European Union seeking the annulment of the decision of the EU Council to impose sanctions against the bank, the press service of the bank said.
"As long as the case is subject for consideration at the Court of the European Union, the bank shall not comment on the lawsuit before the final court ruling," the bank said, bigness.ru reports.
On August 1, 2014, the EU imposed sectoral sanctions against the Russian financial sector. The restrictions affected five Russian banks - Sberbank, VTB, Gazprombank, VEB and the Agricultural Bank. The sanctions were feted one year with the possibility to be revised in three months. European residents were prohibited from providing medium and long term financing to the Russian banks. The sectoral sanctions did not affect the "daughters" of the Russian state-owned banks. Sberbank, VTB and Gazprombank have such "daughter" structures.
Noteworthy, on October 21, international rating agency Moody's Investors Service downgraded the ratings of Sberbank, VTB, Gazprombank, Agricultural Bank, on House Mortgage Lending Agency, Vnesheconombank and Alfa Bank. The move was made following the reducing sovereign credit rating of Russia.