Russia’s top thirty banks facilitated the export of $20bn from Russia in the first half of 2011; Sberbank and the Bank of Moscow crown the list, Deputy Director of the Central Bank of Russia’s Financial Stability Department Sergey Moiseyev said at the International Banking Forum in Sochi.

We see a two-way trend: on the one hand, banks are trying to find new niches and segments where they can successfully offer loans with tolerable risks, and on the other hand they play an active part in the export of capital. Thus, the country’s thirty largest banks facilitated the outflow of about $20bn in the first six months of the year, mainly in the form of interbank loans and loans to non-residents. This trend is somewhat worrying,’ RIA Novosti quotes the official as saying.