Russia's central bank revokes licenses of 2 banks
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Russia's Central Bank has withdrawn the licenses from two of the country's banks as part of a larger effort to consolidate the banking sector.
The Central Bank announced on Monday that it has revoked Interkommerzbank's license. It said there was a significant imbalance between the assets and liabilities of the country's 67th largest bank.
It also withdrew the license of the country's 186th largest bank, Alta Bank.
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The closures are part of the Central Bank's campaign to consolidate the banking sector, currently characterized by a large number of small banks. The movement is controversial; it creates greater long-term stability, but there is uncertainty about which bank is next.
Interkommerzbank and Alta Bank clients will be able to recover up to 1.4 million rubles ($18,207) of their assets.