London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Sunday, Sep 13, 2026

Russia could take 10 years to recover from sanctions, says boss of country's largest bank

Russia could take 10 years to recover from sanctions, says boss of country's largest bank

The most severe package of sanctions placed on any country in the modern era could relegate Russia to a lagging economy for years to come.

Russia's economy may take a decade to recover from the crushing sanctions placed on the country following its invasion of Ukraine, according to a top banking executive.

Returning to pre-sanctions levels could take nearly 10 years as the nation remains cut off from half of its trade, said German Gref, the boss of Sberbank, Russia's largest bank.

Mr Gref estimated the countries who have severed ties with Russia were responsible for 56% of its exports and 51% of its imports, crippling the economy.

"This is a threat to 15% of the country's gross domestic product, the bulk of the economy is under the fire," said chief executive Mr Gref, speaking at Russia's annual international economic forum in St Petersburg.


Dozens of multinational corporations pulled out of Russia in the wake of its invasion of Ukraine in February, while a large group of countries cut off Russia's access to the international financial network and seized properties, yachts, and private jets belonging to allies of President Vladimir Putin.

The economic isolation imposed on Russia caused the stock market and the rouble to crash, the cost of household items to soar, and pushed the government to introduce strict capital controls.

Russia's central bank also lifted the interest rate from 9.5% to 20%, before reducing it again in June.

As a result of sanctions, and "if we do nothing - we may need around a decade to return economy to the 2021 levels", Mr Gref said.

The chief executive also called for structural reforms to the Russian economy.

Russia has suffered from having its key logistics arteries severed - Russian ships were banned from entering European Union ports, while sanctions closed the airspace over Europe to Russian airlines.

According to Mr Gref, cargo shipments have fallen by six times.

In May, Britain announced fresh sanctions targeting £1.7bn worth of trade with Russia in a bid to "further weaken Putin's war machine".

They include sharply higher tariffs on £1.4bn worth of imports from Russia and bans on exports to the country that are worth £250m a year.

The measures, announced by Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan, mean the total value of products subject to full or partial import or export sanctions since the invasion of Ukraine is more than £4bn.

The EU also recently announced plans to halt its purchases of Russian oil and gas, which is currently raising more than $1bn a day for the embattled country.

Comments

Oh ya 4 year ago
Sorry for the truth but the rouble is worth more now than before the sanctions. But yes it will cost Russia something but they have very little out of country debt, they have the natural resources and lots of grains to eat.. Think about this. When you own natural resources you have a product that you can do something with, then the central banks of the world print money out of thin air that have nothing backing the value of those dollars and want to trade you for some of your natural resources, so you get a dollar backed by a bankrupt government. That is not a good trade for natural resources. The EU will find out this winter just what keeps the house warm and fist full of Euros or Russian natural gas

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Chinese Crypto Entrepreneur Leon Li Identified as Seller of £190 Million London Mansion
Trades Union Congress Proposes Social Energy Tariff Funded by Higher Bank Surcharge
British Chambers of Commerce Calls for State Pension Triple Lock to Be Scrapped
Anthropic Says Claude Helped Disrupt Biological Weapons and Cyber Espionage Threats
UK Imposes Sanctions Over Israeli Settlements and West Bank Violence
UK Reimposes Sectoral Sanctions on Iran’s Aviation, Shipping and Energy Networks
UK Economy Grows 0.4% in July as AI and Programming Services Lift Activity
UK House of Commons Rejects Assisted Dying Bill by 286 Votes to 270
UK Reviews Nationwide Emergency Alert Tests After Systems Meet Reliability Targets
UK Seeks Faster Rail Links Across Northern Industrial Corridors
British Business Bank Allocates £150 Million for High-Growth Companies in Northern England
BBC Warns Staff Strikes Are Possible Amid Pay Dispute and £500 Million Savings Drive
UK Backs Short Extension of UN Sudan Sanctions Regime
Prime Minister Andy Burnham Defends Early Prison Release Reforms and Growth Strategy
Reform UK Faces Scrutiny Over Alleged Effort to Circumvent Foreign Donation Rules
UK Analysts Warn Tax Rises or Spending Cuts May Be Needed to Preserve Fiscal Headroom
Jaguar Land Rover Plans Up to 4,000 Job Cuts in £1.7 Billion Cost-Saving Drive
UK Chancellor Warns of Difficult October Budget as Borrowing Costs Rise
UK Declares Israeli Occupation of West Bank Unlawful and Expands Sanctions
UK House of Commons Rejects Assisted Dying Bill for England and Wales
English Councils to Gain Power to Introduce Tourist Taxes by 2028
Kemi Badenoch Reshuffles Conservative Shadow Cabinet
Firefighters Make Progress Containing Major Wildfires in South Wales
John Lewis Partnership Reports £124 Million Loss
Study Says UK AI Data Centres Will Create Only a Quarter of Forecast Jobs
UK Government Considers Higher Industrial Water Prices Amid Supply Pressures
Andy Burnham Holds First Call With Donald Trump as UK Prime Minister
NHS Records Busiest Summer on Record as Heatwaves Drive Hospital Admissions
Home Secretary Orders Police Crackdown on Far-Right Anti-Migrant Vigilantes
UK Supreme Court Rules Northern Ireland Religious Education Curriculum Breaches Human Rights Standards
Markets Price in Four Bank of England Rate Rises by Next Summer
House of Commons Prepares Free Vote on Assisted Dying Bill
UK Government Bans Trade With Israeli Settlements in Occupied Territories
UK Economy Grows 0.4% in July as Artificial Intelligence Investment Supports Expansion
Andy Burnham Becomes UK Prime Minister After Keir Starmer Resigns
John Lewis Partnership Loss Widens to £124 Million
UK Government to Put White Working-Class Social Mobility at Centre of Equality Policy
McLaren Plans £450 Million Technology Investment Creating 1,000 UK Jobs
UK Chancellor Faces Calls for Wealth Taxes and Public Ownership in Autumn Budget
English Mayors to Gain Powers to Impose Uncapped Overnight Tourist Taxes
JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon Warns UK Government Against Bank Windfall Taxes
UK Air Traffic Control Outage Cancels More Than 2,000 Flights
UK Imposes Trade Ban on Israeli Settlements in the West Bank
UK Borrowing Costs Surge as Middle East Tensions Push Long-Term Gilt Yields to Highest Since 1998
Buckingham Palace Says Prince Harry and Meghan Will Not Resume Official Royal Duties
UK Treasury Faces Calls to Scrap £100,000 Childcare Support Threshold
Trades Union Congress Urges Labour Government to Rewrite Migration Policy
Riot Police Deployed After Anti-Migrant Protests Turn Violent in Portsmouth
UK Considers Replacing Some Disability Cash Payments With Direct Services
JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon Warns UK Chancellor Against Higher Banking Taxes
×