The Russian central bank on Monday announced the first bailout of the rouble crisis, providing up to $540 million to rescue Trust Bank and taking over supervision of the mid-sized lender.
The move prompted questions about the banking system despite the state having pledged a big capital boost for the sector.
The central bank said its Deposit Insurance Agency, responsible for managing crisis-hit lenders, would assume interim control of Trust and provide aid of 30 billion roubles via a loan from the central bank.
The measures "will make it possible for Trust to continue smooth payments operations. All the bank's clients, including depositors, can use its services as usual", the central bank said in a statement.
Meanwhile, as evidence mounted of trouble spreading through the economy, Russia's former finance minister Alexei Kudrin said on Monday that Russia's government has pushed the country into an economic crisis by not tackling its financial problems fast enough.
Kudrin - a darling of investors who is credited with building Russia's $170 billion sovereign wealth funds - asserted that sanctions over Ukraine, not falling oil prices, were primarily behind the collapse of the rouble, and warned that Russia risked having its debt downgraded to junk status in 2015.
"Today, I can say that we have entered or are entering a real, full-fledged economic crisis. Next year we will feel it clearly," the former minister told a news conference.
"The government has not been quick enough to address the situation ... I am yet to hear ... its clear assessment of the current situation."
