The head of a major Russian state-owned bank dismissed as nonsense reports that President Vladimir Putin is linked to as much as €2bn in offshore transactions allegedly involving people close to the Kremlin leader.

JSC Alfa Bank, the Russian private bank founded by billionaire Mikhail Fridman, is scaling back lending for all but the most affluent clients after a growing share of customers fell behind on payments this year.

Daniele Nouy, head of the European Central Bank’s new supervisory board, said she has “no worries” about Europe’s banks operating in Ukraine.

Russia won’t bail out people or companies that stand to lose money held at Cyprus’s two largest banks, first deputy prime minister Igor Shuvalov said.

London: Russian banks may buy stakes in Britain’s “large” financial companies, said Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin.